Trapped: Dazed and Confused
by Jmags-WriterofAwesomeness
Summary: It's Friday the 13th and things are about to go very, very wrong. Wacky ways in which the Victorious cast get trapped... Jandre/Reck/Cori/Trinjin friendship, Cabbie/Bade/Tandre romance. Rated T for mature language. Story is better than summary!
1. Jandre War, movies and a murderer?

_Hey guys! First of all, I'm going to warn you now-this is unlike any story you've ever seen before. And let me tell you why- I did the weirdest thing imaginable with this story. First, I randomly split the Victorious characters into pairs. Second, for each pairing, I picked six random words from the dictionary (yes, a non-electronic dictionary! They still exist!); three for what they're doing before they get trapped, and three words for how they get trapped. I will tell you these words at the ends of the first couple of chapters. And yes, the story lines will be very… interesting._

_I apologize if this story turns into a train wreck. I am writing way out of my comfort zone here so I can improve and expand my skills as a writer. This has been very hard for me to write, but I hope you'll still enjoy it!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious. Lord knows what I would do if I did XD**

* * *

"Betsy, Betsy! Come quick! Another patient has just arrived!"

A girl with raven black hair in a white blouse and a long blue skirt rushed into the army tent, almost tripping on the hemline of her skirt as she ran. She wiped her forehead, damp from the summer heat, and quickly stuffed a white nurse's hat on the top of her head. "Sorry ma'am! I lost track of time!" she said breathlessly. "Miss Claire Evans told me to go on break."

Her coworker frowned at her. "You know she's just out to get you! Ever since her husband died and she went off on the crazy train, she's been trying to get you fired!"

"I know that, but what am I supposed to do about it? She'll snitch on me if I don't listen to her orders! She's the boss's pet, for heavens' sake!"

Betsy sighed in frustration. "So who's the patient?"

"Union soldier, colored male, five foot eleven, 30 years of age, Regime 31. Was bayoneted in the shoulder and is bleeding pretty badly. He is currently unconscious from the large amount of blood he has lost and from irregular contractions in his heart." Elaine gave her the patient's status report. "Stupid nigga didn't even have a rifle to protect himself with."

Betsy gasped. "Elaine! Don't say that about the colored! We're part of the Union, not the Confederates!"

"Yeah, well we need someone to blame for losing the battle," Elaine muttered. Betsy's ice blue eyes shot daggers at her, and Elaine backed off. "The patient is waiting for you. Report back to me on his status so we can determine if we should treat him or not."

And with that, she walked out of the tent. Betsy turned towards the sick entrance, which was covered with dirty pink curtains. She took a deep breath, tried to ignore the smell of sweat and blood wafting through the crack under the curtain, and pushed the curtains apart. On the first cot on the right laid a man in a blue army suit, blood soaking the left side of his bed. His dreadlocks, even pulled up in a ponytail, were still visible under his wide, muscular neck and his matching army headgear. Betsy's heart stopped and she froze in place as she realized who it was. This man is Gary Spencer, the guy that she had had an affair with a year ago and had never stopped loving him since.

"Gary?" she whispered softly, still in shock. She walked over to the side of his bed and felt his wrist. No pulse. She placed his hands on his chest and waited for his chest to rise and fall; it never did.

"Gary! Wake up! Don't leave me!" she cried, tears starting to pour down her face. She frantically did some CPR on him, but it was too late. The man that she had mistakenly rejected (for fear of her reputation) was gone.

She choked back sobs and laid her head down on his chest, the tears soaking his still-warm shirt. "I never got to say goodbye," she wept into his shirt. "I love you and I always will." She stayed there as Elaine and her boss watched the scene disapprovingly from the curtains. And then the stage was covered in darkness.

* * *

"CUT!" the director yelled, and the lights immediately flicked back on. "Great job everyone, that's a wrap! The first show is tomorrow at 10 a.m., but you all should be here by 8:00 to get into costume and rehearse one last time. Break a leg!" He walked briskly out the theater exit, chatting into the Blacktooth in his ear.

Andre hopped off of the cot and unbuttoned the blood-stained jacket he was wearing. _Man, it is hot in here!_ _You'd think a top-notch theater like this would at least have air conditioning_, he thought to himself. It was the middle of July and the theater must have been at least 85 degrees inside. They had been rehearsing all with only a lunch break and two water breaks, and he was starting to soak the long-sleeved garments he was wearing. He went to his dressing room and changed, hanging his soldier costume in the huge walk-in closet.

He whistled a happy tune to himself as he got ready to go out for the night in New York City. Yes, he was in the Big Apple- and on Broadway, for crying out loud! Sikowitz had connections with the director of the new play and had made a deal with him that had circulated throughout Hollywood Arts for days- two students would be sent to represent Hollywood Arts and they would get the chance to star in the play! Of course, everyone had to audition first. Andre was so excited when he heard that he had been chosen because he never thought he was that good of an actor. He thought Beck would at least have beaten him to it. But now, he's the one living the good life, not Beck; and for some horrid reason, that made him happy.

Meanwhile, still in the theater, Jade quickly took off her nurse's cap and stuffed it into her duffel bag. She grimaced and checked her head for any signs of lice. Man, she hated sharing hats with people; who knows what kinds of germs they carry? Besides, people also sweat in the hats! How disgusting is that?

She, too, went to her dressing room and changed into a strapless black dress and high heels. She put on a spiky black necklace and skull earrings and scowled as she looked into the mirror. Perfect. She looks scary and beautiful at the same-and that's exactly the impression she wants to make on people.

However, she also wonders if it will be enough to please everyone. Ever since she broke up with Beck two months ago, her I-don't-give-a-shit attitude has faltered, and she struggles with finding a guy that could mend her broken heart.

Jade was ecstatic when Sikowitz first called her and told her that she had been chosen to go on Broadway to represent Hollywood Arts. However, she was a little crushed (yet again) when she later found out that she was only chosen to go because Tori couldn't make it. Mr. and Mrs. Vega were out the weekend that the play auditions started, and Tori couldn't drive herself because she doesn't have her driver's license yet, and Trina had refused to drive her for some obnoxious reason (as usual). Of course Tori Vega had to get everything- but not this time. This is Jade's time to make something of herself.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for Andre when he found out about the replacement. She knew Andre had a hidden crush on Tori- the look on his face had said it all. He wanted to spend a month alone with Tori, not with mean, bitter Jade, the ice queen.

Surprisingly enough, despite the little conflict, she and Andre had bonded while working on Broadway. Jade realized that Andre wasn't as annoying as her other "friends" and Andre began to see a new side of Jade- not the closed-up Jade that could make a person beg just by giving him a menacing glare, but the Jade that actually had a personality- the Jade that Beck had originally fallen in love with.

Andre was still putting on his leather jacket when Jade sauntered into his room without knocking. Andre smiled to himself; he was glad that they had become close enough friends to do stuff that friends would normally do.

"Hey, nice job in the play today," she commented, sitting down on the red and black couch and plopping her feet on top of the coffee table.

Andre looked confused. "I didn't say any lines, though."

"Exactly." Andre was offended at first, but was reassured as she gave him a playful smirk. "You ready?"

"Let's do this," he said and opened the door. "Ladies first." She blushed a little bit and mumbled a quick "thanks," as she walked briskly out the door with Andre hurrying to catch up behind her. Even though he had been this way with her for two weeks now, she still wasn't used to the fact that people were being nice to her. It reminded her of the times when she had a real family, before her mother died and her father became an alcoholic. It made her soften up a little bit, and she couldn't help but hate the fact of anyone seeing a weaker side of her.

* * *

Actually, they had fun hanging out on Friday nights, she had to admit. She and Andre would always do different things each night and they took turns picking what they wanted to do. Last Friday, Jade picked a horror movie that made Andre "wake up screaming in the night," as he had complained to her the day after. Tonight was Andre's turn, and he chose to go to a fancy restaurant. They talked, goofed around (including Andre dancing behind an unsuspecting waiter and Jade videotaping the whole thing while trying not to laugh), and eventually crashed at Andre's hotel room.

The sound of people screaming in pain and gunshots came from the TV screen. Since Andre picked their hangout for the night, Jade insisted that she pick the movie. Andre grimaced as he watched two women get stabbed in the chest by a gang of psychopaths.

"Can we please not watch this?" Andre said, clutching his knees with his hands and rocking uncomfortably back and forth.

"Oh come on, it's just getting good! Don't be such a baby!" Jade said and playfully pushed Andre's knees. They were both sitting on the queen size bed watching the movie, and Andre marveled at how relaxed Jade looked as person after person got killed in disgustingly gruesome ways.

"Here it comes…" Jade murmured in anticipation as one psychopath raised a scythe at the main character, ready to slash its throat.

"WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM WITH A SPECIAL NEWS ALERT!"

"Seriously? That was the best part!" Jade yelled. "And I paid $5 for that movie, too! Way to ruin my night, Mr. Announcer Man!"

"Geez Jade, calm down!" Andre said and awkwardly patted her shoulder in reassurance. "This might be really important, considering that this is a movie that we rented and it's not appearing live on the TV…" He trailed off, suddenly becoming a little worried. This was very unusual. Since when did news reports interrupt rented movies?

"Whatever," she muttered grouchily as the anchorman continued to speak.

"We have just been alerted that there is a murderer on the loose in New York City. The cops believe, through careful observation and reasoning, that the possible suspect is a concierge that works at the La Mer hotel on 43rd Street."

Automatically, both Jade and Andre's mouths dropped wide open. The La Mer was only a couple of blocks away from where they were staying.

"He… he wouldn't come here… right?" Andre said, playing with his fingers nervously. Jade shrugged indifferently, as if the whole thing was no big deal- even though deep down inside she knew it was.

"The police advise that anyone within a 3 mile distance of this hotel should keep their doors and windows locked at all times. They suspect that the criminal is armed and dangerous since they found a person dead from which appears to be a severe brain injury from the blow of a blunt object. This is Channel 10 news wishing you a safe night."

Jade quickly turned off the TV and the two of them just sat there, not saying a word.

"He's not going to come here," Jade finally says, getting up to get a glass of water.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because this is a luxury hotel. They probably have security guards and cameras everywhere. And it's late at night, and lots of people are out partying. Why would he show up at a place where he can clearly be seen?"Jade explained matter-of-factually.

Andre just sat there, digesting what she had just said. It made perfect sense, but still… He couldn't help but get that uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"You're right," he said, attempting to laugh it off. "Besides, we're just two people out of thousands in the city. What are the chances that we would be the victims?"

"See? I'm always right. You should listen to me more often." She drained her cup of water and threw the small Styrofoam cup into the trash can. "I'm going to go home, it's getting late." She started heading towards the door but stops suddenly in her tracks.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere," a deep voice answered her. Jade's heart froze and blood starts to pound through her head. She turned towards Andre, who appeared to have the same expression of fear on his face.

"Please tell me that was you who said that, Andre," she whispered softly. Andre shook his head slowly, his dreads bouncing off his shoulders wildly in all directions. At this point, he was too scared to move.

They heard the silent picking of a lock coming from behind Jade and she realized what is happening before he does. Before she was able to run and hide, the door burst open and a man in black grabbed her by the waist, covered her mouth with his hand, and dragged her into the bathroom.

* * *

_Okay so here are the words I stumbled upon in my random search of the dictionary. See if you can guess where I had implemented them throughout my story:_

**Systole:** The time period when the heart is contracting.

**March:** to walk with regular, steady steps of equal length, usually in a group or military formation (this is where I got the Civil War idea from)

**Hemline:** the bottom edge of a skirt, dress, or coat

**Brain:** I'm sure you all know what a brain is by now lol. If you don't… then you obviously don't have one.

**Concierge:** chief assistant in hotel: somebody who is employed at a hotel or apartment building to help the guests or residents, e.g. by dealing with luggage, making travel arrangements, or delivering messages

**A posteriori:** relating to or derived by reasoning from observed facts.

_I know, aren't they weird? Whatever, hope you still enjoyed it! Especially the cliffhanger at the end ;). Beck and Robbie's sticky situation will be up next. Reviews would be amazing! :D_


	2. Reck Projects, arguments and a note?

_Hey everyone, here's another chapter! Sorry it's taking me so long to update; I have AP tests and core projects due and a science fair thing to get ready for this weekend, so I probably won't be updating as often as I did on my first story . But hopefully I'll be around a lot more in the summer!_

_So let's see how Beck and Robbie get stuck… and does it have anything to do with Jade and Andre getting attacked? I guess you'll find out in the future ;)_

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Victorious. I asked Dan a million times and he just wouldn't let me. Oh well, maybe next time… :]**

* * *

**Reck- A project, an argument… and a note?**

_Cat: Robbie! Are we still going to play baby golf today? :D_

_Robbie: Yeah, about that… I forgot that Beck and I are supposed to be working on an acting project and I can't make it today._

_Cat: Aw, phooey! I was so excited about it too :'(_

_Robbie: Don't cry, Cat! Will tomorrow work?_

_Cat: Yay! I mean, yes it will work. I'll go over to Tori's today instead, I gotta tell her about the new treasure I found!_

_Robbie: Okay… See you tomorrow then._

_Cat: Kk bye! Have fun working on your project! :D_

* * *

Robbie sighed and stuffed his blue PearPhone into the front pocket of his jeans. Once again, he had screwed up. Why did he have to be so incredibly awkward around everyone, especially girls like Cat? He wished he knew how to talk to girls. It would make his life so much easier and less pathetic if he did.

Then again, he was glad that he had to decline Cat and work on the project instead. Cat had randomly brought up the fact that he had never actually took her baby golfing after he originally promised her that he would. Of course he defended himself, saying that it's been two years since he broke that promise, but she still insisted persistently until he said yes. He wasn't a big fan of baby golf anyway- the drooling babies creeped him out.

And what would he say to Cat? The two of them would be alone, playing baby golf together, just the two of them… Was this a date? He doesn't know what to think of this new development, considering that he has had mixed feelings for Cat ever since the day she kissed him. Bottom line is that he didn't want to screw up in front of her, and he was glad that moment had been put off a little later into the future.

"Yo Rob! Where are you?" he heard Beck call from upstairs. Robbie sighed, putting his worries to the back of his mind and continued fiddling with the big stage light. He had accidentally broken one of the wires while carrying it (and dropping it, for that matter, because it was just so damn heavy), and even though he was usually good at fixing these types of problems, he had no idea how to go about with this one. This light was from the 1960's, and Sikowitz had given them no instructions on how to use it.

"Down in the basement!" he called, and soon enough he heard the thumping of footsteps coming from the staircase.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Beck apologized. He was wearing an old, faded-out grey t-shirt and baggy jeans and carried a big hook, extra wires, and some pliers. "I had to go to an unexpected meeting about the death of my Aunt Wallace. Apparently, they discovered that she left a will after all."

_Beck's got some pretty weird relatives,_ Robbie thought. First an Uncle Barbara, now an Aunt Wallace? Did Canadians like to get sex changes or something? Or do they have problems with naming their children? Robbie didn't know, and he hoped that he would never have to find out. "Did they ever figure out how she died?"

"Yeah, something about breaking her spine after falling off a ladder while washing some windows." Beck shrugged it off as if it meant nothing. He didn't know her that well and yet she still included him in his will. Yep, she was a wacko, alright.

"Oh," Robbie said, focusing on fastening the wires together with the pliers Beck had brought. "And… done!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "It should work perfectly now."

"Did Sikowitz ever tell us what this was, exactly?" Beck asked. Since they weren't going anywhere for the summer and their summer jobs didn't consume their entire lives, they decided to go to some of Sikowitz's summer classes. He had said that the classes they take now will carry on into the next school year, meaning that they will have one less rigorous class to take during their senior year. The assignment he had given them was to use an old piece of equipment, do some research on it, and then use it to perform a scene of one's choosing. Of course Beck let Robbie do most of the research, since that's what he is good at.

"I looked it up online; apparently it's called a Klieg light and was used to make many famous films."

"Interesting…" Beck said, clearly uninterested. He really wasn't a big fan of technology unless it involved his laptop or his PearPhone. "Wanna try hanging it up?"

"Sure. Let me go get a chair. You can stand on the table and I'll step on the chair."

Beck and Robbie carefully lifted the cumbersome light up and positioned it on the hook hanging from the ceiling beam. Thankfully, it stayed on the hook and didn't come crashing down.

"Yes!" Robbie celebrated. That was the hardest part of the whole setup. Now all they had to do was turn it on. "Can you reach the switch standing up, Beck?"

"I think so. Hold on a sec."

Beck flicked the switch on the back of the light, but nothing happened. Beck sighed, exasperated. Typical Robbie. He always got so excited about accomplishing things that he forgot to make sure that his plans actually succeeded. "Robbie, I thought you said you fixed it!"

"I did!" Robbie exclaimed, offended. "I put the wires back together like they were before."

"But did you even bother to check to see if the light turned on?"

"It's not my fault!"

The boys started arguing, both equally frustrated with the project. They could both be doing something more entertaining than this. Robbie could be hanging out with Cat and having a great time and Beck could be devising a plan on how to win Jade back. He had been thinking lately and maybe this time, the breakup was his fault. He WAS acting a little out of the ordinary at the time for personal reasons and obviously wasn't thinking clearly. No matter how mean Jade could be, she was always there for him when he was going through his rough patches; and no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't seem to let her go.

Fed up with each other already, the arguing escalated until they heard a loud _clang! _behind them. They jumped at the same time, startled by the sudden noise. The light had fallen from the ceiling, breaking the hook in half and popping the opaque lens out of the light.

"Great," Robbie groaned. "Now we have to fix it all over again."

"And that hook cost me like $30!" Beck complained. Sure, it was cheap, but still, it's $30 he'll never get back. He could've used the money to do something better, like repaint his car or buy Jade a nice "I want you back, please forgive me" gift.

Robbie picked up the lens and his mouth dropped open in realization as he saw a crumpled piece of paper in it. "Oh, _that's _why the lens didn't work!" He took the paper out and opened it, smoothing out the crinkles.

"What is it?" Beck asked.

"Looks like a page from an old biology textbook or something." The paper had small, neat handwriting and a smudged diagram of a bird eating a fish. "Ooh, that looks like a buzzard! And what kind of fish is that? Probably a whitefish, since they tend to get eaten a lot…"

"Robbie! No one cares!" Beck yelled, causing Robbie to drop the paper in surprise. "Let's just chuck the paper into the garbage can and fix the light."

Beck picked the paper up from the floor and flipped it over. "Wait a second… what's this?" he said, examining the legible but sloppy handwriting on the back. It looked a lot newer than the writing on the other side. _SOMEDAY THE CHIP WILL BE MINE… OR ELSE, _it said. It made no sense at all… but the "or else" made him nervous. Then again he's probably just being paranoid- he's starting to notice this about himself after he and Jade broke up.

Robbie gasped. "A mystery!" He clapped his hands in excitement. "Let's keep it!"

"Fine, because I don't want to lug it around," he said, handing it to Robbie. Robbie stuffed it into the pocket that also held his PearPhone. "Now let's fix the light before it gets dark."

"Aw, is Becky scared of the dark?" Robbie cooed.

"No!" But even though Beck knew that the message could very well mean nothing, the "OR ELSE" haunted him the rest of the night.

* * *

_Okay, so here are the mystery words I used!_

**Testate:** Having a legally valid will.

**Spinal: **Of, relating to, or situated near the spine or spinal cord

**Klieg light: **An intense carbon arc lamp especially used in filmmaking.

**Whitefish: **various freshwater fish that are most commonly eaten.

**Buzzard: **any of various usually large birds of prey

**Smudge: **To smear or blur (something)

_Again, weird words, I know! I was surprised myself when I came up with them! Tori and Cat's story will be up next. What kind of treasure does Cat have to show Tori? And does it have anything to do with how the others got trapped? Looks like things are getting pretty intriguing! :D Reviews, anyone?_


	3. Cori Chips, magnets, and laser guns?

_Wow, do I feel stupid now. I completely forgot to trap Beck and Robbie! Forgive me for my mistake… *smacks self on the forehead.* Lol don't worry, I'll have something planned for them in the future ;) Hehehehehe…._

_Here's how Tori and Cat get involved in the sticky situation that's unraveling as I write. I'm not going to necessarily say "trapped" this time considering that I accidentally neglected to do that in the last chapter XP Oh well, we're all human, aren't we? Or maybe you're all just evil mutant robots and I'm the normal one! Calm down, I'm just kidding (not)… XD Okay, I'll stop rambling and let you read! You don't have to tell me twice! Geez, you guys are killing me here XP Hahahaha *laughs awkwardly and tapes her mouth shut.*_

**(Sorry, it's like 1:00 at night right now and I get insanely crazy when I'm tired lol)**

* * *

**Cori- Treasure, adventure… and a laser gun?**

Cat parked her bright pink car in the Vega's driveway and skipped happily to the front door. She couldn't wait to show Tori what she found during her meeting with her therapist! She usually loved her therapist. The young, attractive lady listened to everything she said and gave her a Tootsie pop every time she made a "breakthrough," as Dr. Kiney (her therapist) had called it. She didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but she always assumed it was a good thing.

However, today she was a little distracted during her therapy session. She didn't know exactly why she was in a more melancholy mood than usual. Robbie couldn't go baby golfing with her today- so what? They were going tomorrow, anyway! So why was she so upset after he ended their conversation so abruptly?

She tried coming up with excuses for her weird behavior. Maybe it's because her brother had put a spider in her bra the other day. Or maybe it's because she lost her job at Bed, Bath and Yonder because she was too busy smelling the different soaps and candles to actually help the customers. _Yeah, that must be it,_ she thought to herself. Besides, isn't losing your first job supposed to be heart-wrenching the first time? So she made herself believe that excuse, even though she knew deep down inside that it wasn't really true.

Meanwhile, Tori was sitting on the couch watching _Dancing with the Celebrities_, bored out of her mind. At this exact day last summer, she and Andre had been on her laptop watching funny Bluetube videos until their stomachs hurt from laughing so hard. She did not imagine how much she would miss Andre while he was starring on Broadway with Jade. She always thought of him as just a good friend, but she had never really realized how close they had actually gotten until they said goodbye to each other last month.

She could hear Trina screeching some song she couldn't recognize (because she was singing it so horribly), and she turned the volume up on the TV until she couldn't hear the ear-piercing notes anymore. She couldn't believe Trina when she refused to drive her to Broadway. Tori was starting to think that Trina was purposefully trying to sabotage her chances of ever becoming famous. Could Trina really be that selfish and lazy? It's just not possible!

Tori huffed in frustration, suddenly stressed out from these thoughts running through her head and laid down on the couch with her feet dangling over the edge. She didn't have to see Trina to know that she was coming down the stairs.

"Baby, you're a FIIIIIREWORK! Come on show us WHAAAAT you're WORTH!" she sang loudly, clearly out of tune.

"Trina! Can you keep it down?" Tori sat up and looked at her sister with annoyance.

"You're going to buy a ball gown?" Trina asked, confused.

Teetering on her last nerve, Tori stormed over to Trina and ripped her ear buds out of her ears. "TURN THE VOLUME DOWN!" she yelled.

Trina looked shocked. "Whoa, looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." She walked over to the refrigerator and got herself a bottle of water. "What's been up with you lately? You've been acting weird ever since Jade and Andre left."

"No I haven't!" Tori said defensively. Trina gave her a knowing look, but that didn't faze her. "It's my time of the month…" she weakly covered up.

"Okay, little sis, TMI!" Trina yelled from the kitchen. "I gotta go to the hospital. I won't be home until 10 tonight and Mom said there's chicken in the fridge if you want that for dinner."

"Wait, what are you doing there so late?"

Trina stared at her sister incredulously. "Didn't Mom tell you? I got a job as a nursing assistant!"

Tori's mouth fell open in shock. "_You… _got a _job?_" she exclaimed. She never would have thought that Trina Vega, of all people, would get a job. Heck, the girl fainted when she heard that she had to fold the laundry last night! "Well, don't come crying to me when you get fired."

"Gee, thanks for the support, "Trina said sarcastically, gathering up her things. "And when I get a promotion, which I will because I'm awesome, I'll be saying 'I told you so!' and rubbing it in your face!"

Tori felt bad being mean to her sister, but she was in such a crabby mood that she didn't care. "Why did you choose to work at a hospital?" she asked, trying to feign some interest.

"Because I look good in white, duh!" Trina said with her back facing Tori. "See ya later, alligator!" And with that she was out the door.

Tori sighed in frustration and turned the TV off. Cat would be here soon anyway. She wondered what Cat could possibly be up to this time. She had sent her a weird text a couple of hours ago- something about showing her a "treasure" she found. That made her nervous, considering Cat found it in her therapist's office. It could be anything from a piece of candy to a Swiss army knife- who knows what surprises are in store when it comes to Cat Valentine?

A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang. "It's open!" Tori shouted, feeling too lazy to get off the couch.

Cat skipped through the door in a flowery dress and pink flats. "Tori!" she cried out in excitement and ran to where she was sitting. "Look at this! It's so shiny!" She squealed as she wagged the tiny piece of silver in Tori's face.

Tori was about to act like she was the least bit interested in the little thing, but something caught her eye. It wasn't just an old piece of plastic or anything. It had the name _PNX Technology_ on it, a company that specializes in making advanced technology for the FBI. She knew this because her father had worked there for quite some time while training to be a police officer.

"Whoa… Cat, where did you get this?" Tori asked, plucking the computer chip out of her tiny manicured fingers and examining it closely.

"I found it under my therapist's desk!" Cat said, jumping up and down like she was on her Jupiter boots again. "She was asking me questions about my brother and as I was telling her a story of how he tried to microwave uncooked spaghetti, I accidentally knocked a whole bunch of paperclips off of her desk! I offered to pick them up and then I found this!"

"Cat… Do you know what this is?" Tori said with a sudden burst of curiosity.

"No… Is it a piece of lint? I saw this video once of a shell with shoes who tried to walk a piece of lint that looked like a dog."

Tori just stared at her, confused as she always was whenever Cat blurted out a random thought. "No… This is a computer chip from like one of the richest companies in the world! The employees basically work for the FBI!"

"Oh my god, that's so cool!" Cat cried, even more excited than she had been in a long time. Tori and Cat both had had nothing to do this summer, so this was the first time they were truly into something since school had ended. "Put it into your computer and let's see what's on it!"

"Alright, alright! Just wait a second!" Tori ran up to her room and got her laptop, which was covered in pictures of her and her friends. On top of all the pictures were stickers spelling out "Make It Shine."

She turned on the computer, and Cat leaned over her shoulder, trying desperately to see as Tori slid the chip into a slot on the side of the computer. A mysterious program opened up on the computer screen and blinked **ENTER PASSWORD** rapidly.

"Great! How are we supposed to know the password to this thing?" Tori groaned. "It could be anything! It's for the FBI, for goodness sakes! Is there a way for us to-"

Before she could go on, the screen stopped blinking and a mysterious voice said "Welcome! You have entered a top-secret database!"

"Wait. How…" Tori trailed off when she heard Cat giggling like crazy behind her. "Cat, how did you know the password?"

"There was a tiny word at the bottom of the screen that said 'unspeakable,' so I just tried that! You're welcome," she said, hugging Tori around the neck.

Tori shrugged her arms off and clicked on a button that said CLICK HERE TO VALUATE YOUR PRODUCT. "What does that mean?" Cat asked.

"I think they're developing some kind of weapon for the FBI," Tori commented, looking at a blueprint of what appeared to be some sort of laser gun. "Holy chizz, they're planning to sell whatever this is for two million dollars!"

"That's crazy!" Cat exclaimed. "Do you know what it is?"

"No… and if it's for the FBI, I don't want to know," Tori said, accenting the word _don't _as she spoke. At this point, she was kind of freaked out. They had a blueprint for a deadly laser gun and no one else knew! What were they supposed to do now? "What are we going to do? This obviously doesn't belong to us, and someone may be looking for it."

"Well, Trina and your parents are out of the house until tonight. Why don't we drive to the company and return it? It's only like two hours from here, I think."

"That's not a bad idea, Cat… except for the fact that we could get ARRESTED!" Tori cried.

"Why don't we tell them you're Mr. Vega's daughter? Since he went there to train, they should understand." Cat said.

Tori ran a hand through her brown, wavy hair anxiously. "Okay, but we have to be back by 10!" She grabbed her black and white striped purse (which went well with her white cami and her black leather jacket) "Come on, let's go!"

"Wait!" Cat yelled from the kitchen. "I have to call my brother and tell him to demagnetize his hair!"

"… Why?" Tori yelled back, instantly regretting her question.

"Because he attached a bunch of magnets to his scalp so he could stick to the ceiling, but it didn't work, so he connected the magnets to some wires and the current made his hair all staticy and charged up. Now whenever he goes into the kitchen, he has to duck because the pots and pans are attracted to his hair."

_Cat tells some pretty weird stories about her brother, but this has got to be the weirdest one yet! _Tori thought. "Call him later!" she shouted and headed out the front door.

"Kk!" Cat replied, shoving her phone into the same place where she keeps her candy. "Yay, we're setting out on an adventure!" She ran out the door pretending to be a top-secret agent as they walked towards Tori's car. They both couldn't wait to see where this would lead them… but little do they know what they were about to get themselves into.

* * *

_Okay, I know this chapter is a little weird. For some reason, because of the words I randomly chose out of the dictionary, it was a lot harder to write than the others. Here are the words I ended up using in this chapter:_

**Chip (noun)- **a small wafer of semiconductor material that forms the base for an integrated circuit **  
**

**Set-out (verb)- **begin trip: to begin something, especially a journey**  
**

**Unspeakable- **not describable in words: incapable of being described in words**  
**

**Accent- **to put emphasis on a syllable of a word

**Valuate- **to determine the price or cost of something**  
**

**Demagnetize- **stop something from being magnetic: to remove the magnetic properties from something**  
**

_I know, I know, I'm such a promise breaker! I didn't trap Tori and Cat yet either, but I will soon. Things are about to get very, very suspicious in the Los Angeles and New York areas…_

_Trina and Sinjin's situation will be presented next. Will they somehow get involved in this sticky situation, too? Or are they just stuck in their own problems? Find out next! Please review if this chapter isn't too horrible X(_


	4. Trinjin Scrubs, insanity and a robbery?

_Hey-o it's me again with another update! I'm so bored right now and my stomach hurts really badly so I thought it was the perfect time to write again! So this chapter involves Trina and Sinjin and… no comment. Writer's block strikes again XP. Maybe watching Tori Goes Platinum tonight will give me some ideas…_

_Sorry guys, my mind is so fuzzy right now that I don't necessarily know what to say right now, so I will just let the story do the talking._

* * *

__**Trinjin- Scrubs, insanity... and a robbery? **

"But I don't want to work in the mental ward!" Trina whined as she followed her new boss down the hallway. She didn't like the feel of this place already. The hospital scrubs so didn't show off her figure! Plus they weren't even white! They were an ugly periwinkle color. It reminded her of her grandmother's lacy doilies. She always hated them because they smelled like mothballs.

The tall lady with her long, chestnut-colored hair styled in a French twist sighed in frustration. She must've been in her mid-30's or so. "You didn't specify which section you wanted to work in on your job application, so we assigned you a place to work. Besides, by the way you looked when you first came…" She took an once-over of Trina's current outfit, "you look like you're perfect for the job."

Trina gasped. How could this lady say she was crazy? Sure, she had showed up to her first day on the job in a slimming purple dress and 8-inch high heels (she had to downgrade from 10 inches because she had so much trouble walking in them) and with her face coated with enormous amounts of makeup; but who doesn't want to make a good first impression? Apparently, Trina doesn't know much about working at a hospital yet.

"This way, please," the lady said, clearly annoyed, and they continued to walk down the never-ending hallway.

"But…"

"Do you want to get fired on your first day?" the lady snarled. Trina shook her head slowly, frightened by Doctor Greyson's snappy attitude. "I didn't think so!"

Trina shut her mouth and stayed silent the rest of the walk. The lady finally turned left and opened a door that led into Room 2170. There were about four to five gurneys sectioned off by curtains the same color as Trina's scrubs. Computer monitors beeped erratically everywhere, and she watched with anxiety as a crazy man carrying a dead fish tried to slap a doctor in the face. Another girl in the corner was biting her nails- her toenails, that is- while spinning around in a chair with wheels.

Before Trina could ask about the sorts of patients in this room, the lady walked over to one section in the middle and stopped in front of the curtains. "This is the patient you'll be taking care of for the moment. He needs to take his medications once every two hours and watch him carefully. He seems to have an abnormal obsession with chewing food and spitting it out again."

_Where have I heard that before? _Trina thought, but shook it off. She wanted to yell at the lady so badly- to tell her how she never wanted to work here, how she just wanted to work to make her parents proud of her for once. But the lady had scared her so bad that all she could mumble was a quick "Okay," and nod her head in affirmation.

"I'll send someone to help you shortly. The doctor you'll be assisting is running a little late today. Don't screw this up." Before Trina could ask any more questions, she shoved a clipboard into her hands and walked briskly out of the room.

She sighed in frustration and looked down at the clipboard. _Sinjin Van Cleef: 18 year-old male, Caucasian, Hollywood Arts High School, diagnosed with Schizophrenia._

_Sinjin? _She couldn't believe her eyes. Sure, he may be a little odd… okay, definitely more than a little odd… but she never thought he was mentally insane.

"Trina?" Sinjin asked in surprise as she hesitantly opened the curtains. He was laying in the bed with his glasses slightly askew.

"Sinjin? Why are you in the mental ward?" Trina asked.

"Well, I got a new set of foster parents this weekend and they thought I was mentally ill, so they sent me here and they diagnosed me with Schizophrenia," Sinjin said like it was no big deal.

Sinjin is adopted? Immediately Trina felt pity for him. No wonder he was so weird! She knew that her parents annoyed the heck out of her sometimes, but she still didn't know what she would do without them.

"Now it's my turn to ask- why are you here? Surely not to see me, of course."

"No, I'm working… I'm taking care of you for the next couple of hours."

Sinjin stared at her with his mouth wide open, and then burst out laughing. "You… got a JOB?" Sinjin gasped, echoing Tori. "Never thought THAT would happen! I guess I owe Burf $10 now!"

Trina was offended. "Shut up! I know where you live!" she threatened.

"I'm sure you do," he chuckled.

"Ugh, you're out of control!" Trina shouted, starting to get really angry. Were the meds affecting him or something? He was being a lot meaner than usual. Or was he… flirting with her? She couldn't tell. But if he was… Ew! She didn't even want to think about that possibility. "I'm getting Dr. Greyson."

"Don't hurry!" Sinjin called.

"Sure as hell I won't!" she yelled back. She found Dr. Greyson at her desk talking into the office phone.

"Wait, why isn't his plane at the landing, Stanley?" The doctor paused and listened. "It… it crashed into a MOUNTAIN?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Call me back with any updates. Okay, bye."

She hung up the phone and turned to Trina. "What?" she demanded, furrowing her eyebrows until they almost touched each other.

"Um… could you tell me when the doctor is getting here?" Trina stuttered. "The patient is being… unruly."

"No can do, Mrs. Vega," she said, sitting down and pulling up something on her computer. "According to Stanley, the guy who was supposed to pick Doctor Huey up, his plane crashed somewhere in Washington. You may have to work overtime."

Trina had had enough. "You can't do this to me! It's my first day and all I want to do is go home and stick my face in a bowl of ranch dressing!"

Dr. Greyson looked at her quizzically. "It's a face treatment," Trina clarified.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but there's nothing I can do about it." She reverted her eyes back to the computer screen.

Trina couldn't believe her bad luck. How come Cat didn't accept this job? It was hers in the first place! Except Cat had told her that she quit because of "the mean, scary lady in black heels and a wart on her chin." Now she could see why Cat had quit after only one day of working there. **(Note: This was before Cat got fired from Bed, Bath, and Yonder.)**

But she needed this job. She needed to prove to her parents that she was responsible enough so she would get un-grounded. She "accidentally" used up all her minutes on her PearPhone and her parents wouldn't give it back to her unless she paid off every extra cent.

She waited a couple of seconds before speaking again. "So… do you know what Schizophrenia is?"

"It's a psychiatric disorder with symptoms of emotional instability, detachment from reality, and withdrawal into the self," Dr. Greyson said, not taking her eyes off the screen the entire time.

"And is his medicine helping? Because he seems perfectly fine to me," Trina commented. "A little rude…and mean…and demented… but for the most part he seems fine."

"Statistics show that the medicine kicks in very quickly but can disappear very fast if the patient misses his dosing time, so make sure he takes his meds at the right time."

The phone rang again. "I have to get that. Run along now." And with that she went to get the phone.

Trina shrugged her shoulders in confusion and went back to the room. "Hey Sinjin," she said, walking through the door and looking down at the clipboard as she entered. "The doctor said that you need to take your medication soon and-"She stopped as she realized that no one was in the room.

"Sinjin?" she called. "You here?"

"Yeah, I need a little help!" a voice answered. Trina hurried to Sinjin's section and saw him sitting against the side of the bed tugging at a string that tied his wrist to the side."

"What happened?" Trina asked him as she bent down to help free him.

"I heard a loud beeping noise and a nurse shouted that the hospital had been robbed. Then, they asked everyone to evacuate the building, but I had to do it by myself since I didn't have a doctor taking care of me. I managed to untie myself from the ropes holding me to the bed, but I got stuck on this one."

Trina gasped. This night just kept getting worse and worse. "I guess it's a good thing that I came back, then," she said, smirking at him. "You owe me big time."

"Can I kiss you?"

"No, gross!" she exclaimed.

"I know," he sighed and leaned his head against the bed.

Suddenly, they heard the door slam shut and the clicking of a lock being fastened. "What's that?" Trina said, fear slowly seeping into her mind.

"…I think they're having a lock down," Sinjin said, his voice shaking. "And we didn't get out in time."

He looked at her and gave her a creepy smile. "I guess we're stuck here for a while."

Then, the lights went out. And that's when Trina screamed.

* * *

_I'm sorry; this was kind of a boring chapter! . I don't know anything that goes on in a hospital, and it was hard to write for both Trina and Sinjin because they are both very unpredictable characters. But at least you have something to look forward to- now that the characters' background stories have been told, the plot thicken… and we'll finally see what this whole thing is about._

_Even though this chapter is a little strange, please review! If not… then I'll send crazy Sinjin after you, and you wouldn't want that, would you? *smiles evily.* I thought so._

_Oh, and before I forget, here are the words I used!_

**Schizophrenia: ** psychiatric disorder with symptoms of withdrawal into self: a severe psychiatric disorder with symptoms of emotional instability, detachment from reality, and withdrawal into the self

**Hers:** something belonging to her: indicates that something belongs or relates to a woman, girl, or female animal who has been previously mentioned or whose identity is known

**Statistics:** the mathematics of the collection, organization, and interpretation of numerical data

**Landing (noun):** place for loading or unloading: a place for loading or unloading passengers or goods

**Pity:** feeling of sympathy: a feeling of sadness because of another person's trouble or suffering, or the capacity to feel this

**French twist:** a woman's hairstyle in which the hair is coiled at the rear and secured in place

_Now that the vocab lesson is over and that I've made sure you will all pass your vocabulary tests now lol, let the story begin! :D_


	5. The mystery man is revealed

_So what kind of trouble has the Victorious gang gotten themselves into? You'll find out in three… two… one… NOW! (Don't worry, no aimless chatter from me this chapter lol) See what happened to Jade and Andre after they were attacked! I know, it's been a while, but try to remember what happened anyway _

Jade woke up with a pounding headache and a fuzzy memory- she could barely remember what had happened before she blacked out. She thought that she must've fallen asleep after she left Andre's hotel room and crashed at her place. Then, she had had the weirdest dream- some murderer had attacked them while they were hanging out. Ever since she and Beck broke up, it has been the scariest nightmare she has had so far.

She slowly opened her eyes and all she saw was black, except for a dim light in an opposite corner of the room. It was so quiet that she could hear water dripping from somewhere- _Plip, plop, plip, plop. _It annoyed the heck out of her. She figured that it was the leaky faucet in her bathroom again- that damn thing would never fix itself!

Man, she was thirsty. She licked her lips and a searing pain instantly shocked her wide awake. Her lip was split and apparently was still in the healing process. Her back ached and her arms and legs felt numb. She felt a dampness pressing against her back and her lower body. If she was in her bed like she thought she was… then why was it so hard and damp?

She attempted to get up but was held back by her duct-taped arms and legs. And suddenly, the realization hit her- she didn't have a nightmare while sleeping. She was living it.

"ALRIGHT, WHOEVER THE HELL PUT ME HERE YOU BETTER SHOW YOUR UGLY, MESSED-UP FACE BEFORE I KICK YOUR ASS!" she yelled, causing something next to her to yell in surprise. _At least they didn't duct-tape my mouth, _she thought. _Big mistake on their part._

"Jade, what the chizz! You scared me half to death!" Andre gasped. She could barely see him in the dim light, but she could still make out a black eye and a bloody gash on his cheek.

"You'll thank me for it later."

"Why?" he asked.

"Try moving your hands and feet."

Andre followed her suggestion and squirmed to get his hands free of the sticky tape. "What the…" He then tried his legs and got the same result. "What happened?"

And suddenly, he remembered; he remembered everything, definitely a lot more than Jade did. A guy had burst into their room and dragged Jade into the bathroom. Andre had bust the door open with his foot (since the intruder had locked it) and had seen Jade unconscious in the bathtub. He swung a punch at the tall man in a black suit and ski mask, but he had missed and paid for it. The man slugged him in the cheek, his spiky gold ring cutting Andre's cheek in the process. He then proceeded to kick the man in the chest. The man retaliated and punched him in the eye, pushing him into the wall and knocking him out.

Andre cursed himself for not being able to protect Jade. If a man wasn't able to protect a girl, even if she wasn't his girlfriend, what kind of a man was he? A weakling? The more he thought about it, the more it pissed him off, so he shifted his focus on their current situation. "So what do we do now?"

He looked into Jade's eyes, but for the first time in years, he didn't see a devilish glint in them. There was no cunning look in her now exhausted smile, no plans to escape. It's like something had sucked the evilness out of her in an instant. She looked hopeless, lost, weary… a side of Jade he was never exposed to.

"I don't know," she whispered, looking down at her ripped black dress. She really didn't know what to do now; she's never been in this sort of situation before. Yes, her dad had abused her before and she had been able to escape from him most of the time… but this was different. She had no idea where she was or what was waiting for them outside of this damp, disgusting room. On the contrary, she knew all of her hiding places in Los Angeles where she would seek refuge from her dad for a couple of hours. Here, they were trapped with no one to help them escape.

Suddenly, the wall in front of them slid open, grinding against the hard concrete floor, revealing the man that Andre had attacked in the hotel room. He didn't have his ski mask on this time. Instead, he wore black shades that shielded him from the bright light emanating from the opening in the wall. He was in a black suit and tie, and the light reflected off of his freshly polished black shoes. He looked like he could've been Arnold Schwarzenegger himself- or his son, at least. For all Andre knew, anything was possible at this point.

"Harvey, the subjects are awake. I repeat, the subjects are awake," the man spoke into his wristwatch. He then took off his sunglasses and walked towards them.

"Welcome to our little operation!" he said with an enthusiastic smile. "I hoped you like your current arrangements… because you may be staying here for quite a long time."

Jade looked like she wanted to rip his head off, but before she could create more tension, Andre spoke first. "Why are we here? And what do you want from us?"

The man chuckled. "I believe you just repeated yourself, Andre. I'll answer your question in a little bit."

Andre was stunned into silence, wondering how this guy (who he had never met before until yesterday) could possibly know his name. The man pulled out a pair of scissors and cut Jade and Andre out of their duct-tape traps. "Walk with me. I'll show you around."

He helped them up and they followed him out of the room. Jade eyed his scissors warily, wishing that she could rip them out of his hands and stab him in the chest with them. But something about him made her think twice about her idea. There was a steely look in his eye that contradicted his courteous manner, a look that said "I am powerful, I'm in charge, and I know everything. Don't mess with me." She has seen that look in her dad's eyes every time he yelled at her, and it made her nervous. She desperately wanted to know what this guy was up to- and she had a feeling that it definitely wasn't something good.

"We run a very powerful organization here at PNX Technology," the man said, walking them through a big, bright room. Desks with computers lined the walls and weird contraptions in the middle hummed loudly, almost drowning out the man's voice as he talked. "We used to work for the FBI but a part of us broke off and started our own business. We are currently occupying the basement of the building."

As they walked out of the room, the man pointed out a picture on the wall. "See that painting on the left? My great-grandmother painted that when she was only 9 year old, and she gave it to me when-"

"I can't take this anymore!" Jade shouted. "Who are you and why won't you tell us anything about why we're here?"

The man pursed his thin lips together, obviously displeased by Jade's interruption, but then started chuckling. "Silly, silly, girl, always asking questions." He gestured to a sofa as they walked into another room, and they sat down and waited for the man to explain what the heck was going on.

"My name is Arthur Killsburo and I am the CEO of this branch. I am planning on starting a world revolution… and you both will be a part of it."

Andre raised his hand timidly. "Yes, Andre?"

"Uh, does your name have the word _kill _in it, sir?" His leg shook nervously as he asked.

Arthur smiled a white toothy smile. "Yes, it does. I'm glad you noticed." His eyes twinkled with a dark glint. "Now can I go on?"

Andre nodded, recoiling into silence, and he continued. "Now, as I was saying, we are planning to take the world by storm in a couple of days. Our connections to the FBI have given us all the knowledge needed to produce top-notch technology; technology that could bring down an entire government."

Jade sighed. "I'm getting bored. Can you get to the point before I stab my eye out?"

As soon as she said this, her left eye was flooded with an intense stinging sensation. She cried out in pain and clutched her eye, and Andre looked at her, alarmed at her reaction. He had no idea what was going on- was this really happening? Or was this all a dream?

"Aw, we wouldn't want you to do that, Jadelyn," he smirked. "Right Andre?"

Andre refused to answer him, scared to death that he would do something to him, too- or worse.

"You both go to Hollywood Arts, right?"

Andre and Jade both nodded in agreement.

"Well, my father went there 50 years ago. He was very good with technology- very advanced for his time period, I must say. There, he created a computer chip that held a very complex blueprint. It was a blueprint for the construction of a special type of gun."

"What kind of gun was it?" Andre asked, starting to become slightly interested.

"_Is, _Andre," Arthur corrected him, pacing around the room casually. "The chip still exists- at least I hope it does. He gave the chip to me when I was going into high school. He said it was for 'safekeeping'- it could never be shown to anyone. However, me being the idiot little boy I was, I brought it to my therapist's office and lost it."

He snarled in frustration and stopped in front of the sofa again. "I tried to tell him, but he died in a car crash before I could. I was devastated. Right then and there, in old Sikowitz's classroom," he said. Andre and Jade's mouths dropped open in shock. Sikowitz was that old? **(A/N: Yes, I know he's 34 in the actual show, but I'm making him older for this story) **"I vowed to get the chip back- not just to rule this fine country, but to fulfill my father's destiny."

"And what is that?" Jade asked, continuing to be a smart ass.

"I don't know yet." He gave Jade a cunning grin. "I guess we'll find that out later."

Jade caught on to what he was getting at. He was planning to take over the country- and not just peacefully. Hell no, of course not. He was going to take over by force. The problem was that she didn't know how he going to go about doing that yet. So she constructed a plan- act like she was fascinated with the whole thing and get the information she needed. Then, she'll turn into his worst nightmare. Perfect.

"So how do you know our names?" she asked, her tone changing from bitingly sarcastic to syrupy sweet. Andre noticed the change and looked at her as if she was crazy. She gave him a _go-along-with-it _look and he secretly gave her a thumbs-up. Jade rolled her eyes in return.

"That's a very good question." Arthur sat down on the coffee table in front of them. "We've been tracking you guys for some time-you two and your friends Cat, Tori, Beck, and Robbie." Jade winced mentally at the name Beck. Why did always hearing his name hit a sore spot in her heart?

"But why us? Why not any other Hollywood Arts kids? Particularly kids with over-the-top egos or orange curly hair?" Jade asked, referring to Trina and Sinjin.

"You guys are very… unique. A tightly-knit family. It's unlike anything I've ever seen between six high school teenagers. It intrigued me."

Jade and Andre gave each other questioning looks. How was he able to watch them? But they didn't bother to ask him- frankly, they didn't want to know.

"You all seem smart and very talented as well. Except for maybe the red head. She's not the smartest egg in the nest."

Jade's hands clenched in fists at the mention of her friend but she restrained herself and nodded in agreement. As much as she liked Cat, she really could be ditzy at times.

Arthur stood up and walked towards the door. "I've said too much already. You will have to find out yourselves later."

The two teenagers stood up and a realization hit Jade. "What about our friends? What are you going to do with them?"

Arthur's eyes widened somewhat and he refused to respond. "Tell me, you son of a bitch!" she shouted and, in a spontaneous fit of rage (she has some anger management issues, as you have probably known already), tried to kick him in the shin. However, her foot hit something other than his shin, even though there was nothing present to block her kick. She gasped. "Ow!" she cried and tried to move her toes inside of her high heels. It now hurt too much to move them. She hoped they weren't broken.

"Oh, that was very stupid of you, Jadelyn," he said, letting out a dark laugh. "And that is none of your business."

They eventually passed through the computer room (as Andre dubbed it) again and Arthur pressed a button on his watch. Immediately, two doors opened, revealing the room in which they were previously held captive in. "Off you go."

"Wait, you're just going to keep us in here?" Andre asked, starting to get furious. Arthur nodded.

"What are we, your pets that you starve and abuse until you get what you want out of them?" Jade yelled, angry as well with the situation.

Arthur gave her that steely-eyed look again. "Precisely." He gave them a warm, obviously fake smile. "Have a nice stay." And with that, he disappeared as the doors closed in front of them and they were left in pitch black. The light flickered on and cast dark, menacing shadows around the small, moldy room.

Andre looked at Jade. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

Jade's eye twitched, still in shock from the pain experienced moments ago, and she let out a tired sigh. "I don't know, Andre. But I'm sure it isn't anything good."

They sat there in silence and fell asleep with hunger wrecking havoc in their stomachs and the sound of dripping water booming in their ears.

A day or two passed, and no one came to check up on them. Ever since they came, they have had no water, no food, no anything. It was like someone had sent them to their graves buried alive and waited for them to rot there.

They couldn't move and could barely talk. They could feel their stomachs practically eating themselves, and their throats were so dry and scratchy that it was almost unbearable. Jade woke up from her deep slumber, unaffected by the hardness of the concrete floor anymore. She licked her lips. Her split lip had healed somewhat, but her lips had shriveled up and dried out in the process.

"Andre?" she asked weakly. Andre stirred and woke up from the opposite side of the room, surprised that they were both still alive. "Can you… come here for a second?"

Andre used every piece of strength he had left in him to slowly push himself up and crawl over to where she was sitting. "Yeah?" he asked, mimicking her breathy tone.

Jade closed her eyes briefly and opened them again. "Kiss me."

Andre was stunned. "Wh-what?" he stuttered. Even though his crush for her was almost completely gone, the question made him nervous.

"If they truly forgot about us," Jade whispered, taking a moment to regain her thoughts, "we might not make it much longer."

Andre thought about it. This very well could be the last day they were alive. And Jade looked so lifeless and desperate. His heart broke as he thought about how strong and beautiful she was only days ago. Beck had torn her heart into little pieces and thrown them away. She has given up all hope of him ever coming back, of things ever being the same again. The least he could do is show her he cares.

"Just do it," Jade interrupted his thoughts.

Andre gulped. He cupped her thin face in his hands and placed a soft kiss on her lips. It didn't last long, but it only took him a couple of second s to pull away. He opened his eyes… and to his surprise, he saw Tori staring back at him. He shook his head, and Jade's face came back into view. How strange that he now imagined Jade as Tori instead of the way it was before, when Andre had had a crush on her.

Jade could tell by his reaction what had happened. She leaned her head back in satisfaction. He cared enough to kiss her, but still cared more about Tori at the same time. He was a good guy, indeed. _Tori would be so lucky to have a guy like him, _she thought. "Thanks," she whispered, and her eyes closed again.

"No problem." Andre laid down again, still in shock from the whole thing. He closed his eyes, hoping he could just die and that this torture would come to an end.

Suddenly, they heard two doors grinding together and two female voices, very high-pitched and frantic, shriek in the room next to them. Their hearts froze as they both wondered the same thing: Why do those voices sound so familiar?

_Uh-oh, looks like Arthur has gained some more captives! How did they end up here? And why does Arthur seem so… supernatural? Sorry for the length, this chapter is so long! I had to make it that way in order to explain everything though. Hopefully this made you more interested in the story! Reviews would be greatly appreciated and put to good use ._


	6. What the heck is going on?

_Wow, I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've been super busy with last minute tests and quizzes and I had my last ever SAT test today! So happy! And then I have three finals that I have to study for this coming week and then I'm done the hardest year I've ever faced! Super excited for that because then I have more time to WRITE!_

_Also, I applied for a position at a place called Kumon (research it if you don't know what it is) and I'm so close to getting the job! My trial day is Monday and that will determine whether I'm the right person to work there or not. I'm so nervous! This will be my first real job EVER if I get hired! Summer job = yes!_

_Now enough about me. Back to the story! No more subjective shipping stories (except maybe Trinjin once in a while because they're not entirely involved in the plot yet); this will combine Tori and Cat with Beck and Robbie- what will happen on their way to PNX Technology? Sounds pretty suspicious if you ask me…_

_I feel pathetic having to beg, but PLEASE REVIEW! I'm kind of disappointed by the lack of views I'm getting on this story. I know it doesn't sound appealing by the summary but I guarantee it will get much more interesting and dramatic in the future! I thought people would at least be buzzing about the Jandre kiss… Oh well, whatever, gotta deal with what people give you, I guess._

_Enough ranting. Let the story continue! :D_

"I don't get it. What's so great about wrestling anyway? It's just big, sweaty guys obviously using steroids to gain an unfair advantage over their opponents. So stupid."

Beck sighed, clearly fed up with Robbie. They had to work on that goddamn light for three hours because Robbie screwed up the wiring! And when they DID finish, Robbie wouldn't go home, no matter how many excuses Beck made to get him out of his house.

They were originally working on the light at Robbie's house, but Robbie's dad came home earlier than expected and yelled at Robbie for inviting people over without his permission. Beck felt bad and offered Robbie to come work on the stupid light at his house instead. Robbie had happily obliged, and now it seemed like he didn't want to go home.

Beck felt bad for Robbie. Ever since he got rid of Rex a week ago, things haven't been the same. Robbie seemed detached and extremely insecure (not that he wasn't before). He was still getting used to the fact that there wasn't someone on his hand willing to express the bold, cocky side of himself for him. He seemed scared to be himself and attached himself to people because he felt lonely without Rex. Beck was being nice to him because Robbie also has a dad that doesn't really appreciate him, but Robbie was really getting on Beck's nerves today for some reason. Was it because he was feeling so troubled about Jade? He didn't know. He's just confused about everything right now.

"Wrestling isn't stupid, Robbie. It's pure entertainment. It's fun watching guys get beat up on television. Plus it gives the wrestlers careers and the advertisers somewhere to advertise their products." _Geez, I gotta stop listening so much in my Economics class,_ Beck thought. He hated that class (especially the teacher) and yet the material still managed to stick in his brain. It was really annoying.

"Gee, guess I never thought of it that way," Robbie muttered. He wished Beck would change the channel on the TV. He saw no point in wrestling. Why show your physical strength through brutality? Do you really have to beat the hell out of another guy in order to feel accomplished? He felt that it was sending wrestling fanatics the wrong message- that physical actions are the only way to prove your strength.

Here he was, at Beck's house, bored out of his mind, not wanting to go back to his house and face the brutal reality that is his life. He didn't want to feel like a loser anymore that couldn't make a witty comeback to save his life. Without Rex, he was vulnerable. Without Rex, he was lost and didn't know where to go. Rex was his best friend, his confident; and now that he was gone, Robbie didn't know what to do with himself.

He had known it would be a big sacrifice- he just didn't know how much he had actually needed Rex until after he was gone. And he did it all for one person- Cat. He felt bad that Rex insulted her all the time; he felt that Rex was the reason why Cat didn't think of him as more than a friend.

That's right, he has figured out his feelings for Cat now. He has had some time to ponder his confused feelings and thoughts about the crazy redhead who had a heart of gold and the mind of an innocent four year old, and he has made a decision- He likes her. Not platonically, but more- much more than he had initially thought. He wanted to be there for her and protect her, like Beck did when the earthquake had hit or when Andre stood up for Cat when she was being bullied by a mean senior that called her an idiot. He wanted her to be happier than he was, and that's when he acknowledged his feelings for her- he cared about her than he even cared about himself.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, snapping him out of his reverie. He took it out and looked at the text. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the name- it was from Cat.

_Cat: Robbieee! Let's go on an adventure!_

Robbie groaned. Oh god, not again. The last time he had followed Cat's farfetched antics, they ended up stranded in a forest because Cat had wanted to look for "forest-dwelling fairies," whatever the heck they were.

_Robbie: Um… can I have more details? _Cat replied back almost instantly.

_Cat: You know that treasure I said I found today- the one I was going to show Tori?_

_Robbie: Yeah… what about it?_

_Cat: Turns out that it's a computer chip! Not the kind you eat, of course. The computers wouldn't be happy about that :/ Anyway, Tori put it into her computer and there's something about a laser on it! She says that it might belong to the FBI!_

_Robbie: No way! How do you guys know it belongs to the FBI?_

_Cat: Cuz it was all secretive-like, silly! Like secret agent stuff! One time, I saw a movie about two secret agents that saved the world from mutant robot dogs. They fell in love in the end. So cute! 3_

Robbie sighed in exasperation and waited for her to break out of her random mood. At least this conversation was more interesting than the wrestling.

_Cat: Tori said it was from a company called PNX Technology and that they basically work for the FBI!_

_Robbie: Wow. I don't know whether to be excited or nervous for you guys. How are you going to get it back from them?_

_Cat: We're driving there right now; it's only two hours away! That's why I'm texting you- wanna come with us? It'll be fun! We can all be secret agents together on a mission to save the world! *dramatic music* Dun dun dun!_

_Robbie: Er, sure, sounds… interesting._

_Cat: Tori texted Beck about it, too. Are you guys at Beck's house?_

_Robbie: Yeah, what time will you guys be here, do you think?_

_Cat: According to my PearPad… 36 inches!_

Robbie groaned inwardly and texted back furiously, his hands slipping all over the keys in his excitement and anxiety.

_Robbie: Cat… that's the map scale. Change your screen to the next setting._

_Cat: Oh, we'll be there in 10 minutes, Tori says! And the map says 10 minutes too! You're so smart, Robbie :)_

Robbie blushed at the compliment. No one really calls him "smart" anymore. He's been called other things- "nerd" and "dork" and "weirdo" are among the most commonly used ones- but rarely ever smart. It was one of the many things he loved about her- she accepted him for who he was, not by his reputation determined by others.

"Hey, you get a text from Tori?" Robbie asked. "Cat told me she sent you one a couple of minutes ago."

"Yeah." Beck turned off the TV and grabbed his coat. "You coming? It sounds really interesting, actually. Can't believe Cat found something important for once."

Robbie clenched his teeth in irritation but decided to not say anything. He didn't want to make Beck more annoyed than he already was. "Sure, why not? I don't have anything better to do with myself anyway." Robbie shrugged it off like it was nothing, but clearly he was worried. What if something bad happened to them? This could be more risky than they had originally thought.

Nevertheless, he grabbed his jacket off of Beck's brown leather couch and followed him out the door. He saw Tori behind the wheel in Cat's bright pink car and Cat sitting in the passenger's seat with a huge smile on her face. Her face instantly brightened even more when she saw them coming out and she waved to them excitedly.

"Hiiii!" she squealed as she got out of the car and hugged Beck first, then Robbie. Robbie grinned widely as he felt her hug linger a bit longer on him than she did for Beck.

"Hey Cat, hey Tori," Beck said a little dully. Robbie didn't say anything; he was now too afraid to screw up in front of Cat. What's wrong with him? He shouldn't feel this way all of a sudden!

Tori noticed the monotone in Beck's voice and the dull, exhausted look on his face. "Hey guys! Ready to go?" she said, hugging Beck awkwardly from the driver's seat. Ever since they almost kissed before the Platinum Music Awards, Tori has been acting weirder than usual around Beck. She doesn't know what to think anymore.

One the one hand, Beck is gorgeous. He has that hair that makes girls swoon and the body of a god. Not only is he popular with the ladies, but unlike the stereotype, he's also not a complete douche bag- except for the fact that he tried to kiss Tori. He would be a good boyfriend and treat her right, and she would reciprocate the actions- like Jade almost never did when she and Beck were together.

However, there was one thing standing in Tori's way, one thing that makes her conscience shape the nice personality she naturally posses- Jade. Beck and Jade had a true relationship with a deep, emotional connection embedded in it; she didn't want him to throw three years of that connection down the drain by being Beck's "rebound girl." Come to think of it, she lost a little respect for Beck when she realized this fact. She then wished for guys to like her for who she is, not because she was pretty enough or vulnerable enough to be a replacement for someone special.

"Yep," Beck replied, giving Tori a weird look. "Let's go!"

"Yay!" Cat dragged Robbie behind her to the car. Beck supplanted Tori and got into the driver's seat while Robbie took the passenger's seat. Cat took the seat behind Robbie's and Tori sat behind Beck. "We're going on an adventure! _Come on, vamanos, everybody let's go-"_

"NO!" they all shouted. Cat shut her mouth and looked down at the ground. Was it so wrong to like Dora these days? Boots was so cute with his little red rain boots! Oh, so that's what his name is Boots! Hehehe!

They chatter animatedly throughout the whole car ride but stopped and stared in awe as they approached a tall, Plexiglass skyscraper. It towered above everything in the city of San Francisco, which was impressive because everything there was big.

"Holy chiz…" Beck murmured, admiring the tall building. "How rich is this company? This place is huge!"

"There must be at least 100 floors in that building!" Tori exclaimed. "Why did they make it so tall?"

"Ooh! Maybe it has an elevator leading up to the sky!" Cat squealed. Everyone looked at her questioningly, Robbie with a little bit of sympathy. "I watched a movie about demigods and Greek myths and the elevator went from the top of the skyscraper into the sky!"

Ignoring the comment, Robbie said, "Should we go inside? I don't want to bother them…"

Tori smacked his arm. "Ow!" he cried.

"Don't be a wimp! Look! All the lights are on anyway. And we drove TWO WHOLE HOURS to get here. Why should we back out now?"

She wasn't kidding about the lights. They made the skyscraper twinkle and shine as if it were a pillar of gold, a pure monument and representation of San Francisco. The effect this mystical skyscraper had on these four teenagers was truly confounding.

"Fine," Robbie muttered, still smarting from the stinging emanating from his left arm.

They walked inside and were instantly greeted by bright, almost blinding lights. People moved in fixed paths all around them, as if they knew exactly when and where they had to be and nothing could stop them from reaching their destination. It was almost as if they possessed a robotic, supernatural quality. It was quite intriguing, to say the least. The walls sparkled a glistening, pure white and there were cubicles everywhere stocked with computers and file cabinets. Everyone was thinking the same thing- what the heck goes on in this place?

While scanning the highly advanced place with a hypnotizing fascination, they walked up to the front desk situated in the middle of the room. The short, bald man standing behind the desk muttered a few more words into the Blacktooth imbedded in his ear and fixed his eyes to face them. "How may I help you?"

"Hi, we are here to return a lost item," Tori said, examining the man closely. His eyes seemed hard and unmoving, as if they had no emotion present in them, even though he spoke in a cheerful, helpful voice and smiled at them warmly.

"A lost item? Well that is very unusual, considering this is a highly sophisticated firm we run here," he said, curiosity and suspicion ringing in his voice. "May I see the item you are inquiring about?"

Tori dug the chip out of the small, concealed compartment in her purse and placed it on the counter. The secretary's face changed dramatically from inquisitiveness to instant recognition. Tori suddenly became doubtful of the man with the hardened, emotionless eyes; he had tried to cover up the recognition in his expression but ended up doing a horrible job at it. Tori could spot a bad actor in a second, and she could tell he was hiding something from them.

Mr. Don Muerto, as his nametag read, ran the tiny piece of silver plastic through a scanner on his desk. His name made Tori nervous. Being half Latina, she knew what certain Spanish words meant including his last name: dead. Well, if that were the case, it would explain his seemingly dead eyes.

"Hmm…" he murmured. "It is mind-boggling that you actually found this. This is a very rare piece of technology you have somehow gotten a hold of here."

"I found it in my therapist's office!" Cat chirped from behind the group. She felt left out, like she didn't know anything that was going on, and it frustrated her. She hated not knowing things; it made her feel… different. She just wished people would pay attention to her for once, like her parents never did.

"Intriguing," he continued to murmur in his soft, overly emotional voice. It was like he was programmed to feel certain emotions. "Follow me,"

"Um, excuse me sir?" Robbie piped up. "Can we go to the bathroom first?"

Tori groaned. "Robbie, are you still using Pizole?"

"No, it doesn't work well!"

"Come to think of it, I have to go, too. I shouldn't have gotten that big iced coffee at 7Eleven," Beck commented. "We'll catch up with you guys later."

Mr. Muerto's eyes flashed at them, as if he was either suspicious or angry. Robbie couldn't tell. It made him want to pee even more than two seconds ago. "Fine, but be quick," he said curtly and started walking down the hallway. Tori and Cat followed obediently at his heels while Robbie and Beck turned a corner and headed down a different hallway.

He led the girls into a room that made them gasp with utter amazement. The walls and floor were made of grey cubes; each one was separated a little bit from one another to preserve its defining texture. Computers lined the walls, their power lights blinking green sporadically, and a glass dome stood in the center of the room, clearly the most important object in the whole room. "Wait right here and don't leave. I will be back to attend with you as soon as I can." And with that he strode out of the room down the hallway.

Cat gaped at the colors bouncing off of the grey cubes. Some of their sides turned from green to red to blue to purple-every color imaginable. The ever-changing colors made her slightly dizzy, but still… they were so colorful! She loved colors!

"Isn't this so cool, Tori? I feel like we've transported into the future!" she exclaimed excitedly, trying to run and step on the colors. She then spotted a square that was bright red and, unlike the others, fixed in its color choice. "Ooh, what's this?"

She tapped it gently with her shoe and then stomped on it. It reminded her of a spider stomping game she used to play at the shore. For some reason, her brother loved spiders. She personally found it creepy because she hated spiders, but that's why she liked stomping on them!

Suddenly, the lights stopped blinking and the colors disappeared except for the red block, which glowed an ominious, bright red warning color. "Cat… what did you do?" Tori said worriedly, noticing this sudden change.

"I don't know, maybe-"

"Oh my god, Cat, look down!" Tori yelled in horror.

Cat obeyed her and saw a black, sticky material shooting up her legs, rendering her unable to move "Aaahhh!" she shouted, panicking beyond belief. "Let go, you black creepy demon!"

She wiggled furiously but to no avail; the sticky strands had created a tight grip around her ankles. Then without warning, the square dropped underneath the floor, bringing Cat down with it.

"CAT!" Tori cried. She frantically ran over to the hole in the floor and looked down, searching for that flash of red hair in the pitch blackness; she found none.

"Cat!" she called her name and looked everywhere for her. The last place she looked was inside the glass dome, which was surprisingly unlocked. She stepped inside and closed the door.

She felt the walls as if she expected some sort of secret walls inside of them. "Where did she go?" she cried, tears of helplessness starting to run down her cheeks. Then, she screamed as the square she was standing on dropped out from underneath her and she fell into the pitch blackness also.

Merely seconds later, Robbie and Beck left the bathroom and entered the mysterious room. "Hey guys, did we miss anythi-"

Robbie stopped as he saw that no one was in the room. "I swore I saw them go in here a second ago!" he said defensively, afraid that Beck would criticize him once again. "They came in here, Mr. Muerto closed the door, and then he came out!"

"I saw that too," Beck commented. "But… if they never left the room…" he trailed off, scanning the room for any signs of life. "Where could they possibly have gone?"

Both guys looked at each other with fear etched in their faces. What exactly had happened to the girls?

_Dun dun dun! As Cat would say. Cue the suspense! I hope I kept yourselves on your toes the whole time, my heart skipped a beat when I wrote the Cat getting dragged down part. Reviews would be awesome! And suggestions within those reviews on where I should go next with this story would be great! :D_


	7. A happy reunion, but still no way out

_Wow, it's been a while since I last updated… I've been insanely busy! But I'm on vacation now, so hopefully after this week (I'm in Ocean City this week… Hellooo beach!) I'll be able to update a lot more quickly, especially with my "Proms are Stupid" fanfic._

_However, this one may take some time because I have no idea where to go with this story. I'm so used to writing emotional, sappy love stories with only two people that I'm not entirely familiar with writing action-packed scenes and romantic scenes with multiple people. So yeah, I apologize if this story eventually turns into a train wreck._

_So for now, I don't know if there will be any ship moments in this one, but we'll see what comes out of my brain, I guess XD. Probably Tandre with a little bit of Bade and Cabbie. Idk._

Upon hearing the frightened shrieks in the room next to theirs, the deprived figures of Jade and Andre looked up to see the door screech open, revealing Arthur's evil, well-groomed presence. He took off his sunglasses and furrowed his eyebrows. He frowned and motioned to a couple of tall, burly men standing behind him. "Guards! Pick them up and get some food into them! They're dying, for goodness' sakes!"

"But boss," a short guy with a handlebar mustache piped up. "You never told us that you left them down here!"

"Just do it before you end up in the electrocution chair again!" Arthur roared.

"Okay!" he whimpered, and he (along with two other guards) scuttled over to the two fragile teenagers. They gently picked them up and carried them out of that desolate dungeon and to a kitchen table with every kind of food imaginable. Chinese, pizza, buffalo wings… you name it, it was there.

Jade and Andre looked at the food with awe. It felt like they hadn't had food in forever! They were too weak to move, so they just stared at the food for a while, wondering whether it was a dream and if this magical pile of food in front of them would disappear.

"Well don't just sit there like a bunch of doorknobs! Go on, eat the food! Geez , it's not going to hurt you or anything," Arthur muttered.

Jade and Andre glanced at each other, shrugged, and dug in. Andre started stuffing donut holes into his mouth at lightning speed while Jade went for the hamburgers and fries. Soon enough, approximately half of the food was gone.

They were about to relax and bask in their food comas, but Arthur quickly brought them back into reality. "Harriet! Michael! Get these two showered and dressed before they are reunited with the other two girls!"

A stylishly dressed woman and a man nodded and started to escort them to their dressing rooms, but Jade stopped them. "Wait… two girls? And how are we being 'reunited' with them?" she asked indignantly. The food had nourished her flaming temper, making her angrier than ever at Arthur for leaving them to die.

Her anger gave way to recognition, then chills went down her spine. Oh my god. _Tori and Cat._ It made sense- what other two girls would both Andre and Jade be close to?

"If you hurt them, I'm going to kill you so hard!" Jade bellowed as she struggled in Harriet's iron grip. Andre realized the reason for Jade's violent behavior and his eyes widened in panic. They got Tori? And poor innocent Cat? He didn't have time to react because he too was violently pushed towards the dressing rooms.

Once Jade and Andre were secured in the dressing rooms, Arthur smiled in satisfaction and ordered the guards to release the captives from Prison B. In less than a minute, a frazzled Tori and a sobbing Cat appeared in front of him, untied but still held into place by the guards.

"What do you guys want from us?" Tori cried. "What did we ever do to you?"

"I want Mr. Longneck!" Cat whimpered, tears running down her face in rivers. Tori pulled Cat into her arms and waited for this intimidating man before them to explain himself.

Arthur chuckled. "You didn't do anything. Fate brought you here." Tori looked at him like he was a nut job. "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Cat cried. She had no idea what was going on; she was still traumatized from being attacked by the mysterious black goo.

"Just listen," Arthur said, and he sat Tori and Cat down and told them the same story he had told Jade and Andre before. He told them about the chip his father had made and how it had disappeared after he went to the therapist's office- and how after his father died, he vowed to get it back at all costs.

"Ohhh, so that's what that note meant!" Cat exclaimed, causing Tori and Arthur to look at her weirdly.

"What note, Cat?" Tori asked, playing dumb. She knew what note Cat was talking about; the boys had told them about the light incident back in the car. However, she wasn't sure if they were the people meant to find the note.

"The one that Beck and Robbie told us about- the one in the light!" Cat said, covering her mouth and giggling.

"Cat!" Tori shouted.

"What-y?"

Arthur frowned at them, thinking that they were smarter than he had originally thought. They were now officially a threat to his operation. He had to convince them to join forces with him now, no matter how stubborn they may be- or else his plan may go down in flames. And if he had to force them into it- or get them to shut up- hey, no harm, no foul. It was the name of the game- the game of conquering the world.

"Interesting… " he murmured (mainly to himself), twiddling his fingers. "That wasn't meant for you guys…"

"What did you say?" Tori asked.

"Nothing!" He brushed it off with a wave of his hand. "Now, I cannot thank you enough for finding the chip and bringing it back to me. And since I've treated you both so unfairly…" He walked them over to a closed white door. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oooh, is it candy?" Cat jumped up and down in excitement, the tears miraculously gone.

"No."

"Red velvet cupcakes?"

"No."

"A unicorn?"

"NO!" Arthur yelled, causing Cat to squeal in fright and jump into Tori's arms. "Some friends you may not have seen in a while."

_What? _Tori thought in confusion. Arthur opened the door and out walked Jade and Andre. Jade wore a grey and black striped T-shirt with a dog-spiked collar and black jeans while Andre now wore a green shirt with a black leather jacket, baggy jeans, and a couple of gold rings on his fingers.

Andre's mouth dropped open at the sight of them. It's been over a month since they've last seen each other. "Tori!"

"Andre!" Tori exclaimed and ran into Andre's welcoming arms. She had missed him so much! Sure, Cat and the others were cool to hang around most of the time, but Andre was ultimately her best friend. They spent almost every day after school together- until Andre went to Broadway. Sure, they texted and skyped and all that chiz, but it's not the same as talking to each other in person.

Meanwhile, Cat had tackled Jade into a big bear hug. To her surprise, instead of Jade pushing her away and yelling "Don't touch me!," Jade held her with an iron grip. It made Cat feel loved.

But to Jade, it was entirely different. Everything was different now that they were all at risk of being killed off at any second. She was very protective of Cat, no matter how mean she was to the little redhead. As Andre was to Tori, Cat was her best friend. She was always there for Jade and helped her with all of her insecurities and flaws. The least she could do for her was keep Arthur from getting to her.

Concerned as to why they could possibly be here too, Tori started firing questions at Andre at warp speed. "How have you been? How's Broadway? How did you get here? When's your first show?"

"Whoa, easy girl, take a breath!" Andre chuckled. "Broadway was cool… until we got ambushed at our hotel. Some dude attacked Jade and ended up kidnapping the both of us and bringing us here."

Tori gaped at him, and then glanced at Jade. "And mean, bitter Jade wasn't able to fight him off?" Tori smirked. "What a surprise!"

"You want a piece of me, Vega?" Jade screamed and waved her fist while still holding Cat in her arms.

Tori laughed triumphantly and turned back to Andre. "How long have you guys been here?"

"A day or two. Worst two days of my life." Andre glared at Arthur, who shot him a warning glare right back at him.

"What do you mean?"

"We were tied up in that room and left to-"

"Okay, enough chit-chat, let's move along!" Arthur shouted, cutting Andre off and ushering them through the main room into the computer room again. Tori looked at him and mouthed _What really happened? _

"I'll tell you later," Andre whispered, and Tori nodded. Even though they were all in the same boat now, something still didn't quite make sense. Why did Arthur pick them, of all people, to help with this project they had no idea about? They weren't exactly special or anything. Well, maybe musically talented, but that's pretty much it. _Guess we'll find out later, _Andre thought and sighed. He just wanted to go home.

_Shit, we missed the play!_ Andre thought, his heart pumping wildly in his chest. He didn't want to get blackballed in Broadway! If they didn't get out of here soon, this could ruin his entire career before it even started. His hand subconsciously squeezed itself into a fist, desperately wanting to punch something- if Arthur even thought about hurting Tori… God knows what he would do to Arthur. He just wanted this nightmare to be over already.

Arthur sat them down at a desk with four computers and a big binder at each. Each binder was a different color and had one of their names on it. Jade's binder was black, Cat's was pink, Tori's was blue, and Andre's was a bright red.

"Pink!" Cat squealed and skipped to her desk. The others rolled their eyes and followed suit.

"What the heck is all of this?" Jade complained, scanning all the people dressed in white clothes typing furiously at the other computers scattered across the room. "A nerd convention?"

"No. This…" Arthur said excitedly and gestured to the action around them. "Is where the action happens."

Jade laughed bitterly. "I don't see any action here, unless these computers get up and dance for us or something."

"Jadelyn," Arthur growled, giving her a cold stare, and Jade immediately shut up and crossed her arms. Tori was surprised- the only person that could ever control Jade was Beck- when they were dating, at least. And she hated the name Jadelyn! What had he done to Jade to make her more… "obedient" than usual? It definitely was strange… Then again, this whole situation seemed unreal at the moment.

"These computers run all of the technology that we're going to use in our little plan." Arthur motioned to them to open their binders, which were filled to the brim with various papers. "The binders contain codes which you must type into the computer when instructed. You must complete the entire program before taking a break and moving on to the next one."

"What do these so-called programs do?" Tori asked.

"They're tests to make sure the machinery is running smoothly." Arthur explained. "Sort of like inspections- except without all the contracts and the possibilities of getting in trouble with the law. Your job is to make sure that the weapons and other technology doesn't malfunction at any point in time."

Jade yawned. "Boooring!"

"When do we get to eat?" Cat piped up, her small stomach growling. Maybe it wasn't so smart for her to eat a donut on the way there- she should've known that empty carbohydrates wouldn't fill her up long enough.

"You can eat during breaks. There's a snack table in the left corner of the room and a mini refrigerator filled with Peppy Colas and Wahoo Punch next to it. We will all go together to eat dinner and other important meals, though. Don't want anyone running off now, do we?" he said, giving them all a sly grin.

They all shook their heads noiselessly. "Good. I knew I picked the right kids for the job. Work hard and don't let me down- or else," he snarled, coming close to Jade's face. Jade matched his snarl with a stone-cold expression of her own. Then, he walked away with his assistants and body guards trotting quickly behind him.

Tori groaned and stared at the binders with disbelief. "Great, what do we do now? We could be stuck here forever!"

"There's gotta be some way to escape…" Andre murmured, trying to think of a way out. However, he couldn't think of anything. This place contained the most advanced technology ever made! Who knows what kind of security system they have here?

"Why don't I just call Robbie? He's good with the techy stuff!" Cat said. The others looked at her, shocked at her sudden attentiveness. They had no idea that she was actually paying attention to what was happening to them, let alone try and come up with a solution to fix it all. She took out her pink PearPhone and started dialing a number.

"You'd think in a place like this they would've taken our phones away from us." Jade snickered. "Obviously, Mr. Steely Eyes isn't as smart as he thinks he is."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Cat groaned. "No signal. Phooey." She pouted. She really wanted to talk to Robbie. It seemed like forever since they had last talked, even though it was only a couple of hours ago since they had last seen each other.

"Speaking of Robbie, where are Robbie and Beck?" Tori asked.

Jade took in a sharp breath. _Beck's here?_ She hasn't talked to him much since the break-up, much less since she and Andre had left for Broadway a month ago. "They're here?" she asked. "I thought you guys came alone. What happened?"

Tori gave Jade a questioning look. Why was she so worried about them? Did she still have feelings for Beck? _Focus, Tori! Now's not the time to worry about relationships; this is a life and death situation we're in here!_ she yelled at herself.

She sighed and pulled her thoughts together. "Long story," she said. "We should exchange stories when we have a break. Hopefully, we're not being watched too carefully."

The enormity of the situation was starting to make Andre a little wonky. First he almost died, and now this top secret company is making him work on a plan that he has no idea about? No way. That's not the way Andre rolls. He needs to know exactly what's happening around him or else he goes crazy- like his grandma does when she sees the numbers changing on the clock.

"Alright, that's it! I'm outta here!" Andre shouted, his nerves getting the best of him.

"Andre, no!" Tori shouted as he heads towards the Emergency Exit door- the door that supposedly leads to the outside world.

"Let him do it!" Jade told Tori.

"But he's going to…"

"LET HIM DO IT!"

"Have fun!" she called to Andre,unwillingly giving in to Jade's peer pressure.

Just as Andre got to the door and touched the handle, he cried out in pain and fell to the ground. The door handle had burned his hand, and his right palm was now a blistering red color and the skin was starting to bubble a little bit.

Cat covered her mouth with her hand and Jade started to laugh. Tori got up and ran quickly to help him up. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?" she cried, examining his hand.

"Yeah, I'm… fine," Andre stammered, still reeling from the searing pain in his hand.

"It should heal in a matter of minutes," Arthur's voice appeared in his ear.

"Aaaaah!" everyone cried, startled by the voice suddenly talking into their ears. Tori grabbed onto Andre's arm in her panic and Cat hid her face in her hands.

Arthur's familiar chuckled filled their heads. "You should know better than that, Andre," Arthur said. "Tsk, tsk. Now stop wasting time and get back to work before something worse happens to you."

Once again frozen with fear, Andre said, "Yes, sir!" and he and Tori hurried back to their desks. "I say we get to work, people! Come on, come on, let's go! Move it!" he shouted, making everyone jump into action. They didn't want to suffer the same consequences that Andre had just experienced. Even Jade reluctantly started looking through her binder and typing on the computer with a frustrated scowl on her face.

She hated this. She hated being bossed around. She wanted to stab this Arthur guy so badly with her hidden pair of scissors (they had neglected to change her undergarments- big mistake on their part), but there was something about him that scared the shit out of her. He seemed too powerful, too omnipotent. It was like no one could stop him to the point where it wasn't natural. He could make people feel sensations without the help of other objects in the vicinity (or so she thought), he had an imaginary shield around him, and he could torture her until her knees shook… This guy couldn't be brought down. Period. And the thought of him being in control of her fate and not her scared Jade. Really bad.

"This couldn't get any worse," she moaned, and the others nodded silently in agreement. It was official; they were trapped here- for the time being. They were so traumatized by Arthur's strict operation that they had completely forgotten about the two people missing from the group- and boy, were they busy boys indeed.

_Meanwhile…_

"Sinjin!"

Upon hearing his name, Sinjin took his mouth off of an old saxophone he had found in the janitor's closet in the hospital room. "Do you really have to play that NOW, of all times?" Trina yelled at him in disbelief.

"Yes," Sinjin said, dumbfounded that she had even asked such a silly question. "This musical madness of an instrument could help us get out of her. Just relax, enjoy the music, and we'll be out of here in no time."

He took a deep breath and soon enough, various sharp and flat notes entered Trina's ears, making her cringe and cover her ear, wishing that the god-awful music would just stop already. "Someone please help me!" she shouted to no one in particular. It was obvious to her right now that Sinjin's medicine was wearing off. She pressed herself against the wall and slowly slid to the ground, wondering how long she would have to put up with Sinjin's insanity until someone could rescue them- if they were ever going to be rescued.

_Hmm, looks like everyone is in a boatload of trouble right now! Will Beck and Robbie come to their rescue? And how? Again, I'm sorry, this isn't my best work, and apparently I have a lot more work to do with my writing because it is a mess. If you guys have any questions on what's happening so far or if I've missed anything, please say so in your review. Trust me, it's really hard to include every single little detail of the plot all throughout the course of the story._

_Oh well, I'll get better eventually, I guess. Ugh. Now I'm annoyed for no reason. Lol sorry about that XD Review if you dare!_


	8. They won the battle, but not the war

_Ugh, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in like forever, I'm currently stuck with huge writer's block for this story. Like I know where I want it to go now- it's just the process of writing it and making it sound good is where I'm having trouble right now. Not to mention that I also have to explain some things… My brain hurts X(_

_I have a feeling that this chapter is going to be very interesting nonetheless… Stay tuned and cross your fingers that this will be a good chapter._

_Btw, I apologize for the negativity I'm possessing right now… It's hard to write a story like this when you're such a damn perfectionist such as myself :/_

* * *

"Wait… He WHAT!"

Tori's metal spoon clattered to the floor and Cat gasped in astonishment. Tori put her pudding cup down and stared across the tiny coffee table at Jade and Andre in shock, trying to grasp the danger of their situation. "So let me get this straight- you and Jade have been here for days? And you were both left to starve to death right before we came?"

"Oh my goodness!" Cat cried and buried her face in her hands. They were on break, for crying out loud! Weren't breaks supposed to be happy?

They had been working for four hours in a row nonstop, and she was starting to feel exhausted. All Cat wanted to do was curl up in a ball with Mr. Longneck and go to sleep. Now, they finally had gotten a break and she finds out this? Cat felt like she was going to faint. What if they were going to kill her off? She doesn't want to die!

"True chizz," Andre said and continued to crunch heavily on his bag of Cheetos. "I don't know what he wants with us, but he's one bad dude."

"Even I don't know what to do about this," Jade said, a dull look in her eyes. The constant workload was starting to exhaust Jade as well. "And I'm the devious one here!"

"My biggest concern is Arthur being able to watch us," Tori said. "How has he been doing that and how can we all of a sudden hear him in our heads even though we've never heard him before?"

"Beats me. Could be anything," Andre mused, twirling a Cheeto in his hand before popping it into his mouth.

They sat there in silence thinking of possible ways that they could be watched. Then, a light bulb went off in Jade's head. She covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my god."

"What?" the others questioned.

"I think I know how he did it…"

_Flashback: 6 months ago_

_Jade groaned in frustration as she walked to her house in the freezing cold rain. Why did Sikowitz have to put her in charge of costumes for the school play? And it just HAD to be about freaking Eskimos who wore scratchy fur coats and moldy earmuffs. What was that hippie thinking when he decided to do this play?_

_Before arriving at her house, she stopped at a cheap thrift store on the way. They usually had crappy stuff, but why not give it another try just for the hell of it?_

_She strolled through the doorway and started looking through the racks. Of course there was nothing special. The fur coats smelled like wet dog, the ski pants had holes chewed in them, and the snowshoes looked like they had been mauled by a deranged elephant._

_She was about to give up when out of the corner of her eye she spotted earmuffs. Having nothing better to do, she examined them closely. They appeared to look brand new. Each pair had two leopard-printed poufs on each end and a thick, black end connecting the poufs together. They were cheap, untouched, and, coincidentally enough, there were only 6 pairs left._

_She would've thought twice about buying them, but she was just so tired and wanted to get out of the pouring rain and snuggle under her bed's covers so freaking badly that she bought them without giving her purchase a second thought._

_The next day, she handed them out to everyone at the lunch table. "Ooh, what are these?" Cat giggled, admiring the leopard print on the sides. She loved animals!_

"_Earmuffs for the play. Don't thank me, I really don't care about this play," Jade muttered._

_The group curiously examined the earmuffs and then carefully placed them on their heads. Strangely enough, it fit all of them perfectly._

"_Ooh, they're so soft!" Tori exclaimed._

"_And fuzzy! I feel like there's a cat laying on my head!"_

_Everyone stared at Robbie. "Man, really? A cat? You couldn't do better than that?" Rex chortled. "Loser."_

"_Hey!" Robbie shouted. Soon, he and Rex were arguing loudly._

_Everyone groaned in exasperation and left, except for Cat, who watched them curiously for god knows how long. Who knows what goes on in that little brain of hers? As everyone finished the day, no one noticed that they had neglected to take the earmuffs off…_

"Ohhhh, was that why everyone was looking at us so weirdly that day?" Cat wondered. "How come no one told us? We probably looked ridiculous!"

"That's not the point, Cat!" Jade shouted. "Arthur must have somehow put something in those earmuffs that migrated into the insides of our ears."

Andre, Cat, and Tori looked at her in horror. "Ewww!" Tori cried. "That's it; I'm cleaning my ears when I get home!"

"If we ever do get home…"

Upon hearing Andre's words, the group was thrown into once again another silence. Then, a loud bell rang, signaling that their break was over.

"Yay, back to more torture," Jade groaned.

"I hope Robbie and Beck are okay…" Cat whimpered as they walked back into the computer room. She was especially worried about Robbie, since she knew he wasn't physically or emotionally as strong as Beck was. She could only hope that everything would all be okay in the end, just like in every movie she had ever watched during her childhood.

* * *

Meanwhile, Robbie and Beck frantically searched the room in which Tori and Cat had first disappeared. "Where could they have possibly gone?" Beck lamented, looking underneath a computer desk.

"I don't know. Maybe there's a trap door or something…" Robbie muttered. He remembered back to a book he read where a child stomped on the floor so hard that he mistakenly activated a trap door.

He started to stomp on each cube on the floor one by one.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Beck watched him incredulously. What the hell was he trying to accomplish?

"You'll see!" he shouted, finally stomping on the red cube. Instantly, the room became dark.

"Robbie, what did you do? !"

"I don't know!" Suddenly, he saw the black goo creeping up his leg.

"Beck, help!" he yelped. Beck, hearing where Robbie's voice came from, ran towards him and tried to pull him free from the goo's sticky hold. However, it would not let up. Robbie looked at Beck in panic. "Pull harder!"

"I'm trying!" Just as the door started to drop downwards, Beck pulled with all his might and he and Robbie tumbled to the floor as the red square disappeared into the blackness below.

"Aw man, these are new pants!" Robbie complained and tried to rub the goo off of his jeans. "My mom's going to kill me!"

Beck gave him a look. "I don't think that's the issue right now!" He crouched down and looked into the hole the door had made. "I guess we know now where one of the girls disappeared to."

"Where do you think the other door is?"

"I don't know, but we don't have time to figure that out now. We have to find out where the girls disappeared to before Mr. Muerto comes back."

"Good idea," Robbie said, admiring his calm way of thinking. He, on the other hand, was freaking out inside. What happened to Cat? Did they hurt her? He sighed and followed Beck out the door. He just wanted his little red head safe and sound next to him again.

They walked in the direction where they had gone to the bathroom and saw a door on the right that said PRIVATE ROOM: DO NOT ENTER. Beck glanced once at the sign, and then turned to Robbie with a mischievous smile on his face. Robbie knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Oh no, I am not going in there!" Robbie shook his head and stepped back. "Who knows what could be in there?"

"Look, you want to see your girlfriend or not?" Beck crossed his arms.

"Tori isn't my girlfriend!"

"I wasn't talking about her. Now come on, I have a plan," Beck said and grabbed Robbie's hand.

"Oh, why meee," Robbie moaned as Beck dragged him into a supply closet.

In a matter of minutes, they emerged wearing white lab coats and tool belts just as they had seen the other workers wearing. Robbie had plastered on a fake goatee on his chin (he had to cut off a piece of his hair in order to get it in the first place. In his defense, it wasn't his idea.) and Beck had put on a pair of sunglasses that matched Arthur's pair exactly. They each had grabbed name tags (also fake, of course) and pinned them to their jackets.

Beck laughed as Robbie fumbled with one of his lab coat's sleeves- it had gotten caught somehow in the tool belt. Of course, only someone like Robbie could possibly make that happen. "Rob, cut it out. You look ridiculous!"

"Well you don't look so good yourself!" Robbie snapped, finally freeing his sleeve.

"Oh yeah? Tell that to them." He smiled and motioned to a group of women workers in a corner staring at him with an awestruck expression upon their faces. He waved to them, and they squealed and one looked like she was about to faint.

"Oh, shut up and let's just get this over with," Robbie muttered as they used their name tags as cards to gain access to the private room.

* * *

"Whoaa, this is awesome!" Robbie exclaimed upon seeing the room. In front of them stood a huge desk complete with a control board filled with various sliders and buttons and a whole bunch of computer screens. "It's like the kind of room you can only see in the movies!"

"Yeah, this must be the control room or something." Beck walked forward to take a closer look at the computer screens. "These videos must be what the security cameras are seeing right now."

There were six screens; therefore, there were six security cameras operating at this time. One screen in the top left corner showed the main entrance to the building, and the one in the top right corner showed the EMERGENCY EXIT. The top middle one, on the other hand, showed the hallway that they had just been walking in.

The three bottom screens seemed to be watching action on a different floor. The bottom left screen showed an aerial view of a kitchen and what looked like a resting area, and the bottom right screen was pitch black with maybe a dim light trying to shine through. But the bottom middle screen troubled Beck the most- because that screen showed three girls and a guy typing furiously on computers.

"Robbie! Come here! I found them!" Beck dragged Robbie all the way into the room and made him look at the screen.

"Yes! That's them! Wait, where are they, exactly? And… oh my gosh."

"What?"

"Jade and Andre are with them."

Beck felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. _They have Jade too? And Andre? There's no way this can be just a coincidence. _He hadn't seen them in a month! And weren't they supposed to be on Broadway now? How are they now sitting in a basement in California on computers. His stomach started to churn as he stared at Jade, who looked breathtaking as usual.

And the words that echoed in the air thereafter just made Beck feel worse. "Do you think we're next?"

Beck sighed and ran his fingers through his wavy hair. "I don't know, but I do know is that we have to act fast and the sooner, the better."

He found a folder on top of the chair and started looking through the files. "No map. If we can't get to them, we have to communicate with them somehow."

Robbie's face suddenly lit up. "I have an idea."

He looked at the control board and found a key that described which color wires led to which room in the building. According to the key, the red wires led to room PNX-1200, which was the room where the others were trapped in. He found the red wires underneath the desk and he put his idea into action. "I can hook these wires up to my Pearphone and then I'll have total access to the computer's software."

"Is it possible to do that?" Beck asked.

"Yep, I have an app called ."

"There's an app for computer hacking?"

"Apparently."

"Is it legal? And why do you have it?"

"Stop asking so many questions!" Robbie snapped.

Beck put up his hands in defeat and backed off while Robbie did all the dirty work with some pliers he had found in his tool belt. After a minute or two, he was done.

"There! Now all I have to do is start typing and it should appear on their computer screens in no time."

And with that said, Robbie started typing.

* * *

Tori's eyes started to droop. She couldn't take starting at this dang computer screen anymore. She was tired, she wanted to go home and sleep. She and the others were the only ones in the room now because Arthur had called everyone else in for a "secret meeting"- whatever the hell that was about. It felt like they hadn't had a break in eons.

"Oh my gosh, I'm starving," Tori complained. As if her cue, her stomach grumbled in your agreement.

"Vega, tell your stomach to shut up so I can keep working and not get killed!" Jade shouted, clearly on her last nerve. Tori shut her mouth and kept typing, her eyes drooping every couple of seconds.

At one point, she almost fell asleep but was awakened by an extremely loud buzz coming from the computers. "Aaaah!" She jolted awake.

"What's going on?" Cat asked, suddenly worried.

"I-I don't know," Tori stuttered, now looking at a screen that was completely black. Then, almost immediately, a message in bright red font appeared on the screen.

**RShapiro1529: Hey guys, it's Robbie! Beck is with me too. Reply back if you get this. We'll get you out of here soon.**

"Eeep! It's Robbie!" Cat shouted. "He's going to save us! My hero!" She started to giggle and a slight blush started creeping up her neck. Who would've thought Robbie, of all people, would be her knight in shining armor? She sure didn't.

Jade looked at the computer in awe. "How did they manage to do this?"

"Just type in a response, okay?" Andre practically screamed. He wanted to get out of this hellhole as soon as possible!

**CValentine214: Roger that, Shapiro! *giggle***

**TVega47: Where are you guys? Help us!**

**AHarris9007: I almost died! Jade did too!**

**BOliver899: WHAT? !**

**JWest508: Yeah, whatever, how are getting out of here?**

**RShapiro1529: Find a file on the computer that has a map of the building. Attach it to a message and send it to me.**

**AHarris9007: Okay, let's see… We have a "System Codes" folder, a folder of Arthur's baby pictures…**

**JWest508: *snicker* I wanna see those!**

**BOliver899: Jade! Not now!**

**JWest508: DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO.**

**TVega47: Guys, stop arguing! I found it! "PNX Technology Building Map."**

**RShapiro1529: Bingo! I got it!**

**CValentine214: Hehe, Bingo! I love that game!**

**BOliver899: Look, we'll be there in about five minutes. Pretend like you guys are typing and don't do anything suspicious.**

**JWest508: But wait, I need to tell you something, Beck!**

**BOliver899: *sigh* What now, Jade?**

**RShapiro1529: Beck, we need to get off, NOW!**

**JWest508: I saw you and Tori almost kiss before the Platinum Music Awards!**

**AHarris9007: *gasp***

**CValentine214: *gasp***

**RShapiro1529: *gasp***

**TVega47: *gasp***

**JWest508: STOP GASPING!**

**BOliver899: …**

**RShapiro1529: This is Robbie Shapiro logging off.**

**CValentine214: Aw :'( Bye Robbie!**

Once the chat was done, the computers were back to normal.

"This is so exciting!" Cat exclaimed.

"Cat! Keep your mouth shut for once and get back to work!" Jade growled.

Cat covered her mouth and one lone tear came out of her eye as they got back to work. She just wished all of this stress would go away…

After precisely ten minutes, the EMERGENCY EXIT burst open without warning and in came Robbie and Beck. They ripped off their disguises (except Robbie couldn't get his goatee off because he glued it on with Grizzly Glue) and ran towards the others.

"Guys, we accidentally activated the alarm; we have to get out of here now!" Beck shouted over the roaring alarm noise.

His first instinct was to grab Jade's hand and run towards the door. Cat jumped into Robbie's arms for a quick hug (and a peck on the cheek; she couldn't resist!) and then let Robbie take her hand and drag her towards the door also.

"Andre! Grab Tori!" Beck shouted, seeing Tori and Andre frozen in their spots.

Without hesitating, Andre seized Tori's hand and they also started sprinting towards the door.

The run to the door was incredibly close- less than 50 feet!- but why weren't they getting anywhere? Beck looked down and saw the floor beneath them moving in the opposite direction in which they were running, as if they were all on one long treadmill.

"The floor is moving! Run faster!" Beck hollered over all of the noise.

"I'm trying!" Jade cried, slowly running out of breath.

"Oh, you won't have to try much longer," an evil voice chuckled in their ears. Before Beck knew what was going on, Jade's hand was ripped out of his as a spray of black goo came out of nowhere and smashed Jade against the wall. The blow made her lose consciousness and the goo stuck her limp figure against the wall as if it were a trophy for everyone to see.

"Jade!" Beck shouted. The blow of the blast had made Beck spiral out of control and fall near the door at the end of the "treadmill," as it will now be called.

"Jadey!" Cat screamed, tears starting to pour down her face. "Robbie, what's happening? !"

"I don't know, just keep running!" Robbie shouted, the adrenaline pumping through his blood pushing him to run faster. Behind him, Cat yelped, and he glanced back to see a black lasso pulling her towards the ceiling.

"Cat!" he cried, watching her dangle from the ceiling shrieking desperately for help.

"Robbie, we'll worry about her later! Grab my hand!" Beck yelled.

Robbie did as he was told and both he and Beck tumbled onto the floor on top of each other.

"Get off of me!" Robbie wriggled his way out from under Beck and covered his mouth in terror as he watched Cat struggle to break free. Cat's shrieks turned into hoarse choking noises and then her body ceased to move. The goo had squeezed her chest cavity until she couldn't breathe any longer, making her pass out from the lack of air.

"Andre! Come on before they get you too!" Beck shouted, fearing for his friends' lives.

"We're coming!" Andre shouted, sweat dripping down his face as they kept on running. However, he soon felt a tug behind him; Tori was slowing down. She had a look on her face as if she were about to pass out. "Tori, you have to keep going!"

"Andre…" She shook her head slowly and tears poured down her face. "I can't." And with that, Tori fell down. The treadmill sent her crashing into the computer desks. She gave out a loud yelp in pain and then also went unconscious.

Before he could fall also, Andre felt Beck and Robbie pull him off the treadmill of death on the other side. "Tori!" he yelled, watching her figure disappear as she was dragged underneath the desks by some unknown force.

"We have to get out of here!" Robbie stumbled forward and struggled with opening the door.

"Wait! We can't leave without the girls!"

"We're going to have to! We won't be able to save them if we don't leave now!" Beck argued back. Andre reluctantly gave up and they all burst through the EMERGENCY EXIT at the same time.

The last thing they heard before exiting the building was a voice so hard and cold that it could make a person's blood freeze in an instant. "Oh boys, that was a very courageous thing for you to do; but you will be sorry that you did." And with that, everything inside and outside the building went dead silent.

Meanwhile, back in the control room, Arthur growled and flicked a switch on the control board, causing Cat and Jade to crash down onto the ground.

"Guards!" he hollered into his wrist watch. "Gather the girls and lock them in Prison B. It's time to bury them in the graves the boys have dug for them."

He kicked the computer desk angrily and stormed out of the control room. He knew exactly what he was going to do. He knew that each boy had eyes on one different girl. It was obvious that from watching them over the six months and while they were at PNX that Beck's calmness wavered at the sight of the Goth girl in black clothing, Robbie's awkwardness got worse whenever a petite, ditzy girl breezed by him, and Andre's music writing skills got even better whenever Tori was around. It was clear that they brought out the best in each other; they made each other strong. And these connections made the group as a whole a force to be reckoned with.

But what do you do to break down the impenetrable wall? Take out all the weak spots. And that's exactly what Arthur was planning to do.

He grinned evilly as he got into the awaiting elevator and kept the grin going all the way down to the basement floor. He was out to get revenge on the three boys that had just ruined a key part of his plan to take over the world. And once he made their "soul mates" suffer and watch the girls die slow, painful deaths, the boys will be forced to beg at his feet for mercy.

He looked at himself in the metal elevator doors and slipped the shades over his eyes. _Oh yes, Mr. Killsburo, _he thought to himself, _you've made your family proud._

* * *

_Wow, that was a lot darker than I thought it would be! But the darker and the more drama, the better, right? Reviews would be appreciated! :D :D_


	9. Arthur's vengeance

_Oh boy, I have a feeling that this chapter is going to be another extremely long one, and I think this will be the most dramatic and heart-wrenching chapter yet. I know, it seems impossible after the one I just wrote, right? Well, you thought wrong!_

_I do bring good news, though- this will contain MAJOR fluff for a certain pairing! Try guessing which one it is before you start reading and see if your guess was right after reading the chapter. Then, tell me in your review what your guess was, your reaction to the outcome, and other thoughts. I'd love to hear your thoughts!_

_*Beeeep* Oops, that is my shut-up-and-start-writing signal! Happy (or sad or suspenseful) reading!_

* * *

Following the black goo attack on the girls, the guys exited the building amidst the extremely loud alarm noise and a shower of tiny blue arrows that resembled tranquilizer darts. They ran for their lives into a forest surrounding the back of the building (since the tower, they had found out earlier, bordered the Redwood Forest National Park). **(A/N- I have no idea if the Redwood Forest is anywhere near San Francisco, but in this story, it is. I went to San Francisco for Thanksgiving last year, but I'm absolutely horrible with locations).**

Like with Arthur and PNX Technology, Andre got a spooky feeling when they finally stopped to catch their breath and observed their surroundings. The atmosphere was moist and humid but possessed a chilly breeze that gave Andre goose bumps. The leaves of the branches and trees rustled every couple of seconds and Andre would snap his head around in paranoia whenever he heard a creaking noise coming from behind him (even though it was just Robbie and Beck following his blind trek further into the forest). Birds sounded in the distance, their wretched cries signaling that they had found their next meal. Andre just hoped they hated the taste of human flesh.

"I…I can't go any further," Robbie panted, collapsing against the trunk of a tall redwood tree.

"Me neither," Andre agreed. He sat next to Robbie and put his head in his hands. He could not get the grotesque images of what had happened ten minutes ago from his head. Jade stuck to the wall, limp like an old rag doll; Cat dangling from the ceiling like bait waiting to be captured by a hungry fish; and the pain etched in Tori's face as her back collided into the desk.

However, the last image remained in his head the longest and he had no idea why. Probably because Tori was his best friend and seeing her in pain made him feel like his heart was being torn out of him and pummeled against the wall? He bit his tongue in order to restrain the emotions building inside of him.

_Restrain the wonk, Andre. You're a big boy now, not some five year-old who whines whenever something goes wrong, _he thought to himself. He pulled himself together and looked up to Beck, who was standing there still as a rock. "So what should we do, boss?" he teased Beck, knowing that he was the only one who knew what to do in a situation like this.

Beck stayed silent for a moment before deciding what to do. "Robbie and I grabbed materials from the janitor's closet just in case something happened to us. Let's use the tools in our tool belts to build some kind of shelter and gather our resources."

Andre and Robbie nodded in assent. "Robbie, how about you empty our bags, determine what could be useful to us, and gather any food from the forest that we may need for the night while Andre and I start building the shelter?" He motioned to the tool belt around Robbie's waist.

Robbie sighed. "Okay." He unstrapped the heavy-duty tool belt and reluctantly handed it to Beck. He wished that he was big and strong like Beck and Andre so he wouldn't always be given stupid little jobs to do like "gather the resources." He pursed his lips in frustration and got to work.

In about an hour or two, the boys were done. It was late at night and they laid under their makeshift shelter in silence, each worrying about the three girls' fate. Beck was trying to sleep and forget their whole ordeal for the time being, but Andre's heavy breathing and Robbie's annoying Nintendo were getting in the way.

Beck groaned and sat up. "Robbie, did you HAVE to bring your Nintendo along with you today?"

Robbie looked up, startled by Beck's complaint. "Hey, Pokémon can be a great stress reliever sometimes!"

He looked down at his lap. "I just need to get my mind off of things, okay? And maybe playing video games is the only way to do that right now. Get off my back."

Even from across their wooden tent, Beck could see through the darkness that Robbie was wiping his eyes furiously. It was obvious that everything that has happened was more than he could handle right now. Beck got up and walked over to Robbie and clapped him on the back. "Everything will be okay, Rob."

"But what if it's not okay? !" Robbie shouted, standing up suddenly. "What if they're already dead? Or tortured or being starved to death? You don't know what that guy is doing to them, Beck! He's a malevolent, psychotic maniac!"

Andre heard the commotion and got up to join Beck in hearing Robbie's outburst. Unfazed by the newcomer, Robbie kept his attention focused on Beck.

"What about _you_, Mr. Cool Guy? I know that your calmness is just a big, phony act! You still have feelings for Jade; I could see it in your eyes when you saw her in the room on the monitor! You were worried about her and I bet you still are! Can't you at least show the littlest bit of concern for her? This is life and death we're dealing with here!"

Beck was shocked. "Robbie, you don't understand. I have to stay strong for the group-"

"And what about you, Andre?" Robbie said, making Andre flinch with his harsh tone. "I know you have trouble keeping your feelings inside of you! Tell us what you're thinking right now!"

They both looked at Andre expectantly. Andre wanted to say so many things, but instead he kept his dignity and shook his head hopelessly. "I can't."

"God damnit, what is wrong with you guys! Be men and go save the girls! I can't bear to lose Cat, not like this!" Andre's eyes widened in understanding when Robbie mentioned Cat. "That's right, I'm in love with Cat. L-O-V-E. Do you guys even know what that means? !"

"All right, that's it Shapiro!" Andre exploded. "We're the ones trying to be strong for YOU! You're the one throwing a tantrum like a child! Beck is lucky that he was able to put up with you all that time while the girls and I were slaved on those stupid computers and Jade and I were left to die!"

Robbie and Beck stared at him with astonishment. Andre still hadn't told them the horror that he and Jade had been through before the whole mess happened.

"I advise you that you shut your damn mouth before I let my 'feelings' out, okay? ! I'm not in the mood for your crap right now!" And with that, Andre pushed Robbie to the ground.

He immediately felt bad after doing it because Robbie curled up into a ball and started crying. "I'm sorry guys," he whimpered. "This is just too much for me."

Andre sat down next to him. "It's too much for all of us. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Robbie looked up and wiped his eyes. "It's okay, I deserve it. If you guys can stay strong for the girls, then so should I."

Beck held out his hand and helped the both of them up. "Glad to have you back, man," he said to Robbie. "You too, Andre. Now let's get some sleep so we can catch up with each other and figure out what to do next. Okay?"

Andre and Robbie nodded and went back to their sleeping spots. "And that means no more playing your Nintendo, Robbie!" Beck called to him.

"Aw, jiminy!" he exclaimed and laid back on the cold forest floor. Too bad he couldn't have any mayonnaise right now. It would help him calm down and think straight.

Depressed and exhausted from the day's events, the guys descended into a restless sleep. Little did they know what they were going to end up facing the next day…

* * *

Jade opened her eyes with a smile on her face. She had had a great dream about her and Beck getting back together. Beck had surprised her at her house and forced her to come with him to his RV. She was reluctant at first, but relaxed once he put "Friday the 13th," her second favorite movie, on his flat screen TV. Then, he had written a sappy love note and apologized for everything at the same time. It made her want to gag and cry in happiness at the same time. But poor Jade had woken up at the best part of the dream- the make-up kiss.

What did this dream mean? Was she still in love with Beck, even after he had treated her so horribly while helping Sinjin out with his game show? No, she couldn't be; she refused to be! But she couldn't help but feel like they were both connected somehow and that it would take a huge force to break them apart. Not even Vega could tear it apart, and that's saying something in Jade's mind since she didn't like Tori all too much.

She yawned and stretched her arms only to find her hands tied behind her back yet again. _Man, what's with Arthur and his obsession with tying people up? _she thought. _It's so unoriginal and overdone!_

Usually, when a person is tied up, that person can still move a little bit; so Jade, remembering that fact, attempted to wiggle her way out. There was only one problem- this time, she couldn't move at all.

_What the…_ She turned her head to the left and to the right. All she could see was wood. She kicked her feet behind her and heard a hollow knocking noise in return. Immediately, she felt dizzy; she didn't know if it was because she had a concussion from her run-in with the wall earlier or if it was because she figured out that she was taped to the bottom of a topless wooden box- that was eerily in the shape of a coffin.

As much as Jade loved horror movies, she had never imagined that she would ever actually be part of one- one made especially for her. She started to scream but stopped because talking just made her even more nauseous.

She peered around the right edge of her box and saw two similar boxes stuck to the side of the glass wall like her box was. She wondered who was inside of them- it could be anyone from their group at this point.

"Anyone awake?" she asked, her voice echoing off the glass walls and colliding violently with her ears. Then, her urgency mode kicked in. "WAKE UP!"

"Aaaah!" two voices hollered at the same time. "Jade! What was that for?" one voice complained.

"My eardrums are vibrating!" one high-pitched voice cried, then giggled from the tingly sensation that resulted from it.

"Um… Tori? Cat?" Jade said and gulped as she glanced somewhere she wish she hadn't. "Look down and tell me what you see."

The two girls averted their eyes downward and gasped. The ground was so far below them that they couldn't see it.

"What the heck is going on? !" Tori cried as Cat started to sob. "Is this some kind of hellish nightmare we're in?"

"Oh, you wish it was," Arthur's cold voice chuckled in their ears. Before they could react, a monitor floated in front of them to show Arthur's aging, sneering face. "Your little boyfriends made quite a mess yesterday, am I right? Of course I am."

"Yeah, that's because they were trying to get us out of this shithole you put us in!" Jade yelled at the monitor and glared at him with revengeful fire burning in her eyes. "What the heck is your stupid takeover plan anyway? To make everyone see how much of a fucking psychopath you are? !"

"That is none of your business right now, Jadelyn."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Arthur sighed and ran his gnarly fingers through his hair. "Let's just say that your little disturbance created a glitch in the system that shut all of my equipment down. Now our operation has to be delayed for a couple of hours while it is being rebooted. And to ensure that something like that won't happen again… I'm afraid you girls will have to be punished."

Tori's breath caught in her throat as she resisted the temptation to look down again. "What's it going to be?"

"Well I thought about it for a while, actually. Stabbing or shooting you would leave too much evidence and too many fingerprints. I considered hanging also, but I figured that would be too barbaric even for me to do to young girls such as yourselves."

Cat let out a strangled cry and tears started to pool in Tori's. Jade just rolled her eyes as usual- but it was still official: at this point, they were all scared to death of this man that could do anything he wanted to them.

"So I did a little research and found the perfect torturous death-drowning."

"WHAT? !" Cat screamed and started to go into hysterics. "I don't want to drown! It reminds me of when my brother almost drowned in the pool when he was little!"

"Oh, Cat… Did I say that the drowning would take place in water? I don't think I did."

"Then… what are you going to use?" Tori asked, confused as to what he was referring to.

"Look down again,"

This time, they saw tubes in the sides of the walls that were dripping the substance they feared the most- the unnamed, mysterious black goo. It started out as a slow drip but gradually flowed out faster and faster, as if a dam was leaking and about ready to burst.

This time, Tori started sobbing as well and Jade continued to stare at the rising level of goo in horror. "You can't do this to us!" she screamed.

Arthur gave her a nasty look and then a cruel smile. "Oh… but I can. And there's nothing you can do about it. Toodaloo!" The monitor turned black and zoomed out of their view.

Tori and Cat continued to cry as the goo started to accumulate. Eventually, Jade was reduced to tears as well. She couldn't stand to hear the other girls' despair. After everything they've been through as friends, it couldn't end this way… right?

"Hey Jade?" Tori sniffled beside her.

Jade turned her head towards the sound of her voice. "I'm so sorry that Beck and I almost kissed."

Jade's eyes widened in shock and she kept on listening. "And I'm so sorry that you saw us almost kissing. I thought I liked him… until now."

Jade gritted her teeth. "Vega, you better watch what you're saying-"

"Just hear me out! I knew Beck still liked you! I respect the relationship you and he once had! Beck's cute but… he's not my type. And I just realized that I like someone else now, so there's no need to hate me anymore."

Jade could barely make out Tori's tear-stained face in the little lighting present in the glass tube. "I want you to be happy, Jade. And I know Beck makes you happy."

Despite their awaiting doom, Jade smiled a little to herself. "You know Tori, you're not so bad after all."

She didn't have to turn her head to know that Tori was smiling too. "Thanks."

"Aw, I love you guys!" Cat cooed after observing their resolution.

Jade and Tori chuckled at Cat's comment. "We love you too, Cat," Tori said.

They forgot about their dire situation for one moment as they basked in the glory of their friendship. They wouldn't go down torn apart; no matter the circumstances, they would stick together until the end, which could be coming very soon- and they all knew it.

* * *

As soon as the sun shone through the breaks in the forest's canopy, the guys woke up and got to work. Andre told Beck and Robbie about Arthur and his almighty appearance and they told Andre about the room Cat and Tori had disappeared in and the control room.

"So this guy wants to take over the world or something?" Beck asked Andre.

"Yeah, but I don't know what the heck he's up to. He didn't tell us anything about the plan, nothing at all." Andre pulled out a stash of cookies he had smuggled in his pants pocket and gave one third to Beck and one third to Robbie.

"And what is that goo that tried to attack me and captured the girls too?" Robbie wondered.

"Beats me," Andre mumbled with his mouth full of cookies. "It could be anything- this dude is almost supernatural. He can control anything he wants whenever he wants it. It's uncanny."

"We need some way to get into the building without being noticed," Beck commented.

"It's not possible- there must be about a billion alarms and security cameras in each room!"

"Wait, guys! I found something!" Robbie exclaimed, motioning them to come closer. "I'm using the computer hacking app on my Pearphone again and it says that there is one room in building that has no security whatsoever! Apparently it's some sort of empty storage compartment."

He laughed bitterly. "Wow, for some guy who seems so incredibly smart, he can sure be stupid sometimes."

"So where is it?" Andre questioned.

"It's on the other side of the building."

"We should pack up our stuff and get moving then. We have no time to waste!" Beck started to gather up his things.

"Wait!" Robbie said. "Shouldn't we figure out what we're going to do when we get there?"

"We'll do that when we get there. Now come on!"

They started their long walk back to the gleaming tower of death, as Andre now thought of it. Of course he didn't want to go back…but because of the girls, they had to. They couldn't let their friends suffer any more than they already have.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached the building. "According to my Pearphone, the room is right… here." Robbie pointed to a door only a few feet away from the EMERGENCY EXIT.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Andre said anxiously. He walked over and tugged the door handle. It was locked.

"Looking for this?" Beck twirled a lock picker in front of his face.

He grinned. "Thanks, bro." He started fiddling with the lock and got it open after only a minute.

"It's open!" he alerted the boys, and they rushed into the room… only to find themselves in blackness.

"You guys call _me_ stupid?" Arthur's voice rang through the ears. They yelled out in surprise and put their hands to their ears. "Did you really think that I wouldn't be keeping an eye on you guys? This whole thing was a trap."

Robbie looked at his Pearphone in shock. "What the… How could you have possibly known? !" he shouted. "This is the best computer hacking program around!"

The chuckling continued and the same white monitor zoomed into the room and lit up the boys' faces. "Apparently you didn't get much bang for your buck," Arthur sneered at them. "No one can beat the master. Do you even know where you are?"

The boys became silent; they knew he was right. "Look around and you'll find out."

The monitor's light became brighter, allowing them to see more of their surroundings. Beck walked over to one wall that was made of glass and all he could see was black. "You're getting very close, Beckett," Arthur said. "Now look up."

Robbie and Andre followed Beck's gaze and saw the three girls crying desperately for help. For the first time since they came to PNX, Beck lost his cool for a moment. "What are you doing to them? !" he yelled.

"Well, considering that I tied them down and they can't move and there's a liquid substance migrating its way towards them… you'll figure it out eventually." Arthur leaned back in his office chair in content, watching the whole scene play out in the control room.

"Why are you doing this to us, man? What did we ever do to you?" Andre shouted.

Arthur's expression hardened and his face grew red. "You're kidding me, right?" he growled. "You better be pulling my chain on this one or else you all are a bunch of idiot jackasses!"

All three of them jumped at Arthur's change in behavior. "You ruined my plan and now you're paying the price!"

"What plan?" Beck yelled.

"NONE OF YOUR DAMN BEESWAX!" Arthur growled. "You will watch your girlfriends suffer and you'll see what it feels like to have someone you care for ripped out of your life and tear it to shreds!"

He soon resumed his frighteningly calm demeanor. "And that is the price you pay with messing with your new dictator."

Before they could figure out what the heck he was talking about, the monitor shut off and disappeared.

Robbie groaned and sank to the floor in despair. He put his head in his hands and the tears started pouring out again. "What are we going to do now?"

"Beck, is there anything in your tool belt that could help?" Andre asked, secretly freaking out inside as well.

"Let's see, I have a screwdriver, a pair of pliers… Ah hah! A glass cutter!" He pulled out the laser triumphantly. "We can cut a hole in the tube and swim up to the girls!"

"Clever…" Arthur's voice mused. "But good luck with that. This black goo has a density of 1,000 kg/m. It's impossible to swim through and it's also really sticky. Once you immerse yourself in it, you're done for."

Beck waited until Arthur was done to speak again. "We'll just have to try."

Robbie and Andre looked at him in horror. "For the girls," Beck pleaded.

They sighed and nodded. "For the girls," Robbie agreed.

Beck turned the laser on and guided the red laser towards the glass. He proceeded to cut a small hole that was still big enough for a human to squeeze through and watched as the glass clattered onto the floor. He expected the goo to come rushing at them, but it didn't. Instead, it was so sticky that it kept its form like Jello.

"Okay, so we know which girls we're getting, right? Robbie, you're getting Cat, Andre will free Tori, and I'll get Jade. Got it?"

They nodded. "Robbie, since Cat is on the other side, I'll run to the other side of the tube and cut a hole for you. Andre, you start heading up to Tori."

Andre looked into the tube nervously and gulped. "Got it. And guys…" He looked at them with somber eyes. "If we don't make it out alive… You guys are like brothers to me." He stopped, unable to say any more without breaking down.

Beck patted his shoulder with sympathy and Robbie mimicked his action. "We feel the same way, 'Dre," Beck said.

They stepped back and Andre gave them one last salute before diving into the sticky blackness.

"I guess that just leaves the two of us," Robbie said sadly and watched Beck run and carve a hole into the other side. As Beck came back, Robbie met him in the middle.

"Hey man… thanks for having my back," Robbie said. "I know you guys get annoyed with me a lot, but… I really appreciate everything you've done for me."

Beck nodded in agreement, realizing that Robbie was also implying about his father as well. "No problem, Rob, because I know you'd do the same for me." He put a hand on Robbie's shoulder. "You're a good friend."

Robbie smiled. "Thanks, Beck."

Beck grinned back and ran towards the hole. "See you on the other side!" Beck yelled and then followed Andre's path through the hole.

Robbie sighed and walked to the hole made especially for him. "Well, here goes nothing." And like the other two he was gone as well.

* * *

After a while, Jade, Tori and Cat had run out of tears to cry and were now watching nervously as the black goo started lapping on the bottom of their boxes. Upon seeing the boys entering the adjacent room, they had screamed for help. Then, they couldn't see the boys anymore, leaving them in the dark about what had happened to them.

"What do you think happened to them?" Cat whispered, hoping that Arthur couldn't hear them. That man really creeped her out.

"I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see." Tori cringed and whimpered as she felt the goo rise towards her waist.

Meanwhile, Jade was in her own little world. "It can't end like this," she breathed, starting to hyperventilate. "It just can't!"

Suddenly, a black figure popped up beside one edge of her box. "Looking for me?" he said, breathing hard.

Jade gasped. "Beck!" She started to struggle again with her bindings. "Help!"

"Calm down, Jade, I'll get you out of this," he said, kissing the side of her neck. Jade relaxed as she felt her pressure point being constricted. Beck resumed to untying the rope around her ankles and her wrists. "Three, two, one…"

Upon reaching zero, Jade felt herself falling and screamed. She was pleasantly surprised to find herself in Beck's arms. "Now listen to me," he murmured in her ear. "We're going to have to swim towards the bottom where I cut out the opening. Hold onto me the whole time and don't let go. And make sure you hold your breath, too." He looked into her eyes. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Too astonished to say anything, she nodded; and with that said, they dove towards the bottom.

Meanwhile, Andre had found his way to Tori's box and had started untying her as well. Tori had started to cry again and struggled to calm her down. "Ssh, it's alright muchacha, I'm almost done."

And just like Jade, Tori fell into Andre's arms. She buried her head into his shoulder and continued to sob loudly. "Thank god you found us, Andre," she whispered.

"Stay strong for me, girl; we're not quite done yet." Tori looked at him with questioning eyes as Andre quickly told her the same thing Beck had told Jade. Tori nodded as well and they too started to make their way towards the opening closest to them.

However, it wasn't until a little later that Robbie reached Cat's box. Since he was a weaker swimmer than both Beck and Andre, he had to rely on his adrenaline to power him through the muck. Robbie's appearance startled Cat, who had drifted into her own place in her mind. "Aaaaah!" she screamed.

"Cat, it's Robbie!" he exclaimed, now almost eye level with Cat. Because he had used up more time swimming than the others, the goo was now up to Cat's chest.

"Oh my god, Robbie!" she cried and put her chin on his shoulder since she was unable to hug him. "I'm so glad you're here! I don't want to die!"

"You won't, Cat," Robbie said, feeling overwhelmed with exhaustion and panic. "I promise." He started fumbling with the knot around Cat's wrists.

Cat gasped. "Hurry Robbie, the goo's getting closer!"

"I'm trying! This knot's really tight!"

As the goo slowly made its way up to her chin, Cat made a decision. She didn't want to stay in denial and keep ignoring her feelings forever. She had to tell Robbie and get them out into the open before it was too late.

"Robbie, I need to tell you something."

While still working with the knot, Robbie looked up at her and waited for her to go on.

"I… I love you."

Upon hearing Cat say that, Robbie's mouth fell open. Without a doubt in his mind, he moved his hands to her shoulders and kissed her passionately on her lips. _I have to do this,_ he moaned to himself. _This may be the only chance I have with her._

He broke away shortly and it was Cat's turn to be frozen in shock. "I love you too. You have no idea," he murmured as he leaned to kiss her again. While Cat was distracted, he untied the knot holding her wrists together. Since Cat wasn't struggling anymore, the knot had loosened, making it easier for Robbie to unravel the rope.

Cat's arms locked behind Robbie's neck and they both enjoyed their moment of pure bliss. Robbie deepened the kiss and Cat's hands tangled in Robbie's curly hair. However, Robbie reluctantly pulled away as he realized that Cat's ankles still needed to be freed.

"I have to go below and untie your ankles," Robbie said, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He looked down and saw that the goo had reached their chins. "Stay calm and try to keep your mouth and nose out of the goo as long as you can. I'll grab onto you and we'll make our way back to the other room."

Tears gathered in Cat's eyes again as she understood what he was saying. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before taking a deep breath and diving down.

Cat tilted her head upward as the goo became too high to keep her head upright any longer. Eventually, she had to take a deep breath as well and submerge herself in the darkness.

As soon as Cat went under, Robbie untied the knot and waited for her to latch onto him. However, he realized that he could not move. His weight and Cat's combined were no match for his skinny, weak arms and legs.

Before he knew it, he started getting lightheaded and forgot which way he was going. Pain ravaged his chest as he felt Cat, being more fragile and out of shape then he was, run out of air and choke on the blackness. Then, her body went limp, making her even heavier to carry.

With the last amount of oxygen Robbie had left, he dragged Cat into his arms and exhaled. He withered and kicked his legs in terror as he breathed in deoxygenated materials. Soon enough, he was also unconscious, and he and Cat sank into the blackness in each other's arms.

* * *

_Holy crap that was a freaking long chapter! Sorry about that! I hope you enjoyed it though, the suspense is killing me as I write this! Please tell people to review cuz this is the best chapter yet! :D_


	10. A family is a haven in a heartless world

_Wow, I read some of the reviews and some of you were completely freaked out over what I did to Cat and Robbie. No need to worry, though; there are still two chapters left of this story, so who knows what could happen to them by then?_

_This chapter is going to be a long one as well, so hopefully I've played with your emotions enough to keep you interested! *laughs menacingly* And for you Bade/Tandre/Cabbie shippers that have been reading this story thus far… let's just say there will be some awesome ship moments in both chapters. I'm on the road visiting colleges right now, so I have a little bit of time to write, but I don't know how long that's going to last. And at the end of the story, I have an announcement for you all._

_So until then… Let's dim the lights, cue the suspense, and get this story going! :D_

* * *

Jade's eyes flew open and she gasped for air as she stared around her in a daze. She still felt dizzy, her chest hurt, and her body slam into the wall combined with the torturous fight against the disgusting goo made all of her muscles sore and weak. In other words… she felt like shit.

It wasn't the first time she had felt this much pain. She had gotten beaten worse by her dad than this when she was little. But the sheer fact that her friends (even Vega) had to suffer with her made her feel ten times worse emotionally.

It didn't take her long to figure out that she was sitting on Beck's lap. She laid her head against his chest in exhaustion and could feel and hear that he was breathing as heavily as she was. She looked up and found him leaning against the wall and staring down at her with concerned eyes.

"Hey," he said, barely able to get anything else out of his mouth.

She smirked. "Hey yourself."

She scooted off of his lap and sat next to him. Beck carefully examined her face, especially the cut on her cheek. "You feeling okay?"

"Never better!" Jade said in her mock Tori voice. She half-expected Tori to say "I don't talk like that!" like she usually did, but this time she heard nothing from the spunky brunette.

A little to their right, Andre was stroking Tori's hair as her head rested on his shoulder. She wasn't as lucky as the others (excluding Cat and Robbie, of course). Beck, Jade, and Andre were strong enough to fight against the odds physically and mentally. However, she, on the other hand, had passed out from dehydration and lack of air after exiting the tube.

Andre nervously kept running his finger through her hair, hoping that she would wake up. He was worried sick about her. He was so busy trying to find the hole Beck had cut out with the glass cutter while they were swimming that he didn't know if Tori had "drowned" or if she was just plain tired. "Come on, Tori," he murmured and kissed her forehead. "Wake up. We need you; I need you."

He gently shook her shoulder and Tori's eyes slowly fluttered open. "What… what happened?" she said, suddenly feeling the same pain in her chest as the others felt in theirs. She cautiously pushed herself up and a searing hot sensation shot up her back. She cried out in pain and Andre massaged her shoulders, trying to distract her from her anguish.

"We made it out, Tori. You're not trapped up there anymore," he said. "Look around."

She did as she was told and saw Beck and Jade whispering to each other and almost practically sitting in the same position(s) they were. "Oh my god," she breathed. "That was the scariest moment of my life."

Andre sighed. "I'm not going to argue with you on that one." He saw Tori space out with a troubled look on her face. "You okay?"

Tori glanced at him, startled. "I'm fine. I just want to go see how they're doing."

Andre steadied her waist as she struggled to get up. Her legs wobbled underneath her and felt like jelly as she took her time walking over to Beck and Jade.

"Can I talk to you for a moment, Beck?" she asked, interrupting whatever conversation they were having at the moment.

He glanced up at her and breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see that she was okay as well. "Yeah, sure."

Tori rolled her eyes at Jade's nasty glare and dragged Beck over to a nearby corner. Even though Tori had apologized and everything, Jade was still naturally protective when it came to any interaction between Tori and Beck.

"We need to talk about what happened between us," Tori started off. "I feel guilty telling you this, but…"

"It didn't mean anything? That it just happened in the spur of the moment?" Beck finished for her.

Tori looked at him in surprise. "How did you know I was about to say that?"

"Because I feel the same way." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, flicking the goo off that stuck to it.

"But then why did you try to kiss me in the first place, even when I refused to the second time?"

_Crap, _he thought. He knew she would ask him something like that. "I was trying to move on. I decided to stop being a coward and try and forget about Jade. It didn't work," he said softly.

"So you admit I was your rebound girl."

"No, you weren't!" He put a hand on your shoulder. "Look, you're an amazing person, Tori. I've always had feelings for you- but what I didn't realize until all of this happened that they were merely platonic. Don't put yourself down because of my stupidity, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

She looked over to where Andre and Jade were chatting. They looked like they were having a nice conversation.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Beck's voice. "You like him, don't you?"

Tori gave him a shy smile and she blushed slightly. "I think I might. And you still love Jade, right?"

Beck let out a nervous laugh. "That I do. "

Tori's smile grew wider. "I guess we both got lucky, huh?"

Beck grinned and gave Tori a quick hug. "Yeah, we sure did."

Tori didn't know if he was talking about their rescue or Jade, so she assumed that he was implying about both. She squeezed Beck a little tighter and hoped that everything would be okay soon.

At the same time, Jade had joined Andre in watching Beck and Tori talk. "So, you and Tori, huh?"

Andre snapped his head towards her with a wild look in his eyes and then looked down at his lap. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, don't lie to me, Andre. You so like her," she teased him.

He rolled his eyes. He couldn't lie to Jade; she always managed to get the truth out of him one way or another. "Okay, maybe a little."

She smirked and leaned against the wall with satisfaction. "Good, because I think she likes you too."

"And how would you know that?"

"She apologized for trying to kiss Beck and said she likes someone else now. And what other guy could she possibly be closer to?" She gave him a look that said _Duh! _"Get where I'm going with this?"

"Yeah, I gotcha." He shot the question right back her. "And how are you and Beck doing?"

She bit her lip and thought about it. "I have no idea. I don't know what to think now. I need to talk with him and figure things out after Vega's done with him."

She looked at him and smiled. "You scored a good girl, Andre."

He stared at her in disbelief. "I thought you hated Tori."

"I still don't like her. I just don't feel like insulting her as much anymore," Jade said, trying to cover up her mistake.

Andre chuckled and shook his head. "Good luck with Beck- he's a pretty lucky guy."

Jade, remembering how close they became on Broadway, gave him a side hug as she saw Tori walking over to them. "Thanks. And Tori's a lucky girl to have someone like you."

Jade got up and headed towards Beck, who was still standing in the corner. "So… how goes things?" she asked awkwardly.

"Everything's okay, I guess. A hell of a lot better than they were before," he laughed bitterly.

The smile dropped off his face and he became dead serious. "Look… I need to get something off my chest."

He took a deep breath. 'I'm sorry- for everything. The arguments, the breakup, what happened between me and Tori… "

He paused, trying to think of words to say that could possibly express his feelings. "I've screwed up many things in my life. I screwed up relationships with my parents, my cousin, my brother…" He looked Jade directly in the eye. "But there's nothing I regret more than throwing away what we had."

Jade's eyes widened in shock as Beck kept talking. "I'll understand if you don't want to get back together again because I was a major jerk to you. But I just want you to know that even though I've had lots of girls chasing after me… You are the only girl I've ever loved- and I'm not bluffing when I said that."

For the first time in a while, Jade was speechless. "I…I don't know what to say, Beck." Her bottom lip started to quiver. "You… you hurt me. Do you even know how I felt after you didn't open the door?"

She paused for a second. "I felt worthless. It felt like I was thrown under a bus and left to die. I feel like I can't trust you anymore." Tears started to form in her eyes. "How can I be with you if I don't know if I can put my absolute faith in you- that you would love me unconditionally, like you used to say when we first started dating? I don't know if I can risk the pain again."

She started sniffling and the tears finally broke loose and poured down her face. "Jade-" Beck said, putting a hand tenderly on her shoulder.

"But I can't stop loving you!" she cried, putting a hand over her face to hide her puffy eyes. "I missed you so freaking badly you don't even know!"

Beck pulled her into a hug, not being able to stand her pain any longer. "I think I do. I felt the same way," he whispered.

He tilted her chin up and kissed her for the first time in months, and Jade couldn't help but kiss him back. She had felt so lonely without Beck by her side that it was almost unbearable. But now, with him kissing her with the same passion as their first kiss three years ago, she felt secure; she felt like she was worth something to someone.

Tori tapped Andre's shoulder and pointed to the "new" couple making out in the corner like old times. "Aww, they look so happy together!" she exclaimed. 'I'm so happy for them."

"Yeah, I just hope that Jade will be less of a gank from now on," Andre joked.

"Oh, she will be." Tori smiled at him knowingly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I told her I liked someone else," Tori laughed.

"Ooh, who's the new dude now?" Andre teased her.

Tori started giggling madly, her nerves now taking control of her brain. "I can't tell you."

"Oh, come on, I'm your best friend!"

"Says who?" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh, you're going to regret saying that!" Andre said and started tickling her in places that wouldn't involve her hurt back. Tori's giggling erupted into loud bouts of laughter.

"Aww, how sweet! It's a happy ending!" Arthur sneered in their ears.

The two pairs broke apart suddenly and, realizing that they weren't free just yet, snapped back into reality. "What do you mean? We're all back together again! You lose, so hah!" Tori stuck out her tongue in response.

"You know that he can't see you, right?" Beck said. Tori shrugged her shoulders in embarrassment.

"Oh, but I did. And I think at this point I know more than you all do. Did you even to bother to notice that something was wrong? That you are missing some people from your little posse?"

Jade was suspicious now. She knew something still hadn't felt quite right. It was quieter than usual. On occasion, they would be interrupted by a random thought or a puppet's snide comments. Wait a second…

"Oh my god." Tori said as the answer struck her. "Cat and Robbie."

"They didn't… make it out?" Andre stuttered, his heart dropping into his stomach.

Beck ran to the other side of the tube to look for them. He came back with his hands in his fists. "No sign of them. And that tube is completely full now. If they had been able to get out, they would be with us right now."

He looked down at the floor. "There was no other escape."

As soon as he said that, Jade's heart broke into pieces. She started to sob hysterically and buried her head into Beck's chest. "No! They can't be gone! Not Cat!" Cat was the closest thing she had to a sister. She was always there when she was down, no matter how much of a bitch Jade was to her. And even though Jade merely tolerated Robbie, she still cared about him a little bit. She didn't completely hate the guy, especially since Cat was so close to him in the first place.

Weirdly enough, Jade took the news the hardest and continued to wet the front of Beck's shirt with her tears. Beck and Andre regressed into a somber mood, even shedding a tear or two for their fallen comrades.

Tori, on the other hand, went into denial. Unlike the others, she had never lost someone close to her before and she refused to believe that they were dead. Whatever happened to that perfect world they lived in where they felt protected under their parents' wings? It was amazing how the tables turned on them so fast. She decided to ask Arthur herself about what really happened to them.

"They aren't gone, you wazzbag! You're just pulling our chains!" she yelled.

Everyone went quiet and waited for Arthur's answer. No response came for about a minute and everyone started to lose hope. Then, out of nowhere, came Arthur's signature soft, evil chuckle.

"I guess you'll have to find that out for yourselves."

Everyone's eyes lit up, their hopes suddenly renewed. "So are you issuing us a challenge?" Jade asked.

"Precisely. I'll make a deal with you. If you find your friends, I may just let you go. If you don't… you will not only never see them again, but you will be forced to work for me or be punished some more- it's your decision."

Before anyone could even comprehend what he was saying, Jade said, "You have a deal."

"Jade! We didn't even get to discuss it!" Tori protested.

"Do you want to see them again or not? We don't really have a choice here, Vega!" Jade yelled, on the verge of tears again. "We're not just friends; we're a family."

Everyone was surprised. They weren't used to seeing Jade be so emotionally fragile and caring, but Beck understood. Behind her cold, bitter exterior, she really did have a heart; she just hid it behind a thick, icy wall of insecurity.

Tori smiled. "You're right," she said, hugging them all at the same time. "We are a family- and that'll never change."

Arthur saw this group hug in the security camera and grimaced. "Ugh, I think I'm going to puke. Where do you guys think you are, in a Disney movie?"

Andre broke away and waved his fist in the air. "We will find them, Arthur! You better watch your back."

Arthur gave the monitor a lopsided grin and shook his head slowly in amusement. Those kids just wouldn't give up! It was so sweet… and so freaking irritating at the same time. "Trust me, I won't have to. You have only two hours to save them before I decide to commence my operation. Good luck to you all." Then, his voice disappeared for good.

They all looked at each other in alarm. Only two hours? ! They didn't even know where Cat and Robbie were! Tori groaned. "Great. Now what do we do?"

Beck looked to his left. "Well, I'm pretty sure Arthur sealed the door we came in shut, so we have to find another way out of here."

Jade looked down and noticed the tool belt around Beck's waist (not that she wasn't checking him out or anything…). "Is there anything in that tool belt that could help us get out of this room?"

Beck followed her gaze and unstrapped the tool belt. "I almost forgot about this! Andre, lay yours on the ground like I'm doing right now." He started taking out all the tools out one by one. "Nice going, Jade," he said, impressed by her ability to act in tough situations.

Andre took his tools out as well. "Let's see, we have here a screwdriver, pliers, a lock picker, a glass cutter, a drill, a small pickax, and a hammer."

"Since it seems like there's no definite way out right now, we'll have to try and dig our way out. Andre, you and I will handle the drills; Tori, you can have the pickax; and Jade, you can get swingy with the hammer."

"Aw, baby, you know me so well!" she said sweetly before taking the hammer and suddenly slamming it into a nearby wall. Tori started chipping away at the crumbling concrete floor as Beck and Andre turned the drills on and went to work in a corner of the room so the girls wouldn't get hit by flying debris.

A little while later, concrete chunks were scattered across the room and Tori started coughing from all the dust now present in the air. "This isn't working!" she yelled above the noise of the drills. Even with all those tools, they had barely made a dent into the floor and walls of the room. "We've been working for an hour and what are we getting accomplished? Nothing!"

Beck and Andre stopped drilling and scanned their surroundings. They just saw the same thing Tori was seeing: no progress.

"There's gotta be another way out of this place," Beck muttered while massaging his temple with his hand.

He then glanced over at the glass tube, which was, unlike when they had first seen it, empty. "Hey guys!" he called over to them. "Look what happened while we were busy working!"

Andre saw where Beck was getting at. "And the holes you cut out are still there too! Maybe if someone crawls in there, we can find out where they went."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Duh! There has to be a reason why the goo isn't there anymore. What did it do, disappear into thin air?" She pushed the boys aside. "Stop staring at the door like idiots, I'm going in there."

Beck and Andre grinned at each other- the old Jade was back.

A little while later, her voice bounced off the glass. "Guys! I found something! It looks like some kind of flap built into the floor."

Tori, Beck, and Andre went to join here and they all stood there and gawked at the door. Tori shook in fury. "I hate this man sooo much."

"Don't we all," Jade muttered. She peeked through the opening and saw something a little out of the ordinary below her- she saw the tops of cylinders filled with some kind of clear liquid. She peaked a little farther and proceeded to see rows and rows of the same cylinders. _What the heck are these things?_ she wondered. She intended to find out. "I'm going down."

"Jade, you don't know what's down there!" Beck said, concerned for her safety.

"Babe, I'll be fine." Jade pecked him on the cheek and the others watched as she slid through the flip.

It wasn't a far drop, fortunately for her. She found herself sitting on top of some of the cylinders. She jumped down and whipped her head around in frenzy, looking for any potential threats. It was pretty much the same as the computer room, except there were many more wacky machines that she had never seen in her life. There was also a glass dome in the center of the room; it was small, round, and looked like it was placed there for a reason.

Jade sighed and relief and looked at what she had just jumped off of and let out a scream of fright. Wait, were those-

_People. There's people in those things. _She gaped at the captives, not believing what she was seeing. There was one person per container and each person was still fully clothed. The victims' ages ranged from adolescence to what looked like mid 50's and nobody was wearing any sort of mechanism to help him/her breathe. Now, she was convinced that this was where Cat and Robbie were being held.

She ran to the very back row and gasped- there they were, right in the middle of the row resting peacefully in the clear liquid. Jade ran to Robbie's canister and tapped the glass furiously, hoping that he would wake up. When he wouldn't wake up, she did the same thing to Cat's container. Again, she got no response.

"Don't worry, we'll get you guys out of here," she whispered as she stroked the glass trapping Cat. She bit her tongue and looked at Cat's face. She appeared to be sleeping, but her chest was not moving. Was she actually dead or just being held in a comatose state? Jade desperately hoped that it was the second possibility.

Before she could call the others down, she shrieked as she felt her arms being squeezed together behind her back. "I suggest you prepare yourself for what's to come because it's not going to feel very pleasant."

Jade gritted her teeth in pain and promptly kicked whoever was behind her hard in the shin. Mr. Muerto, not expecting her to retaliate in the first place, loosened his hold on her and cursed under his breath. Jade then turned around and whacked him in the jaw, then kicked him in the stomach, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Jade looked around for more people coming at her and turned to run, but not before a hand grabbed her ankle. Her attacker pulled her leg out from under her and they began to wrestle.

"Guys! Help! Now!" Jade hollered, trying to fight against the man's unlimited endurance.

Hearing Jade's screams, Beck immediately barreled through the flap with Andre and Tori close behind him.

"Jade! Where are you?" Beck shouted.

"Over here!" Jade's voice was muffled as she tried to get Mr. Muerto off her back. He twisted her arm behind her and she cried out as she heard something snap and pain shooting through her arm like knives.

Beck saw her in anguish and instantly became furious. "Get off of her!" He sprinted over to them and pried the man off of Jade.

He helped Jade up as the man was taking the time to regain his composure. "Run," he whispered, and Jade didn't give it a second thought.

"Guys? A little help here!" Tori cried. Jade turned the corner and saw Tori and Andre fighting two other guys. She ignored the fire blazing up her arm and proceeded to punch Andre's attacker in the face.

The young man recoiled away from Andre, taken aback by the sudden assault. Andre, seeing his chance, shoved his shoulder with a great amount of force, causing the attacker to turn around and groan as Jade nailed him in between the legs. His face turned grey and scaly and he fell down stiff as a board, as if he had been deactivated like a robot.

Andre realized something. "That's what turns them off!" he told Jade.

Jade turned around and saw Tori running around the room like a scared chicken with an older woman behind her. "Tori! Beck! Kick them between the legs!"

"That's so inappropriate!" Tori cried out in response but turned around and did so anyway. The woman let out the same noise and turned off as well. Beck, still wrestling with Mr. Muerto, did the same thing. The bald man's face lost all of its color and pretty soon his body matched his eyes- dead and lifeless.

Tori and Beck ran to join Jade and Andre. "Anyone else coming to get us?" Tori asked.

"Doesn't look like it," Andre responded. He scanned the room for other accomplices, but he saw none. "Only four people? Why didn't he send out more to torture us?"

"Because he's an idiot," Jade sneered, hoping that Arthur could hear her. "What kind of dictator who wants to take over the world does that? Clearly his ego is going to his head."

Suddenly, the pain in Jade's arm escalated without warning. She screamed and dropped to the ground cradling her broken arm. At the same time Andre dodged a fireball that was shot from one side of the room. "What the hell was that? !" he cried. They glanced to the side and saw a not-so-pleasant-looking Arthur with an assortment of weapons attached to him.

"You sons of a bitch," he growled, slowly walking towards them. "Why must you keep doubting me? Do you know what I had to go through to get to where I am right now? Do you even know what pain is?" He looked over at Jade and laughed. "I know Jade does now. Isn't that right, Jadelyn?"

Too consumed by the pain eating her arm, all Jade could do was groan in agreement. "My dad was my life. He was my best friend. He taught me everything I needed to know about life. And a drunk driver took all of that away from me."

He clenched his hands in fists and Beck swore he saw smoke coming out of his ears. "And now I'm going to do the same to you all. My father will be avenged!"

He pressed a button on his watch and a hologram appeared in front of their faces. The teens watched in horror as the robot people and tanks started to exit the building, crushing and killing everything in their path.

Andre couldn't take it anymore. "Stop it!" he yelled. He ran towards Arthur and tried to tackle him. However, his attempt was in vain as he bounced off of Arthur like a rubber ball and got slammed into the floor.

Arthur shook his head and looked down at the boy. "Silly, silly Andre. Your heart contains compassion but lacks control of it." He got a long, skinny weapon that looked like a gun out of his holster. "I'll give you guys ten seconds to make a run for it. Then, we'll fight it out."

He gave them one last grin before putting on his sunglasses and crossing his arms. "Let the battle begin."

Jade quickly motioned the others to come closer and began to give out instructions at warp speed. "Tori and Beck, you guys take weapons and try to break Cat and Robbie out. Andre and I will hold off Arthur."

"We will?" Andre said and a knot formed in his throat.

Jade gave him a look and Andre surrendered. "Okay, boss. Whatever you say."

They were interrupted by a fireball burning a hole in the middle of their group. "Go! Go! Go!" Jade shouted and pushed Tori and Beck in the other direction as she and Andre ran for cover.

Tori and Beck weaved frantically through the rows of people with glass cutters and hammers in their hands. When they finally found them, Beck took out the glass cutter and started carving a hole in Robbie's container and Tori got to work with Cat's.

However, within minutes, Tori got impatient- the cutters were so slow! "This isn't working!" she shouted and started slamming the glass with her hammer. Beck followed her lead, realizing that the cutters weren't efficient as well.

The glass finally gave way and the clear liquid poured all over them. Tori and Beck reached inside, grabbed Cat and Robbie out of the containers, and set them on the floor. "Cat, wake up!" she ordered, freaked out by how lifeless her body seemed to be. She shook her shoulders and felt her pulse- it was sluggish and slow. She was barely alive. Beck tried to wake Robbie up but saw the same thing. It was like they were in comas.

Meanwhile, Jade and Andre hid behind machines as they escaped attack after attack shot at them. First, he threw fireballs at them. When that didn't work, he moved on to the tranquilizer darts. Finally, he stopped and wiped his forehead, looking exhausted from his failed efforts.

"Hah!" Jade came out from behind a machine and stuck her tongue out at him. "You'll never get us! We're too quick for you!"

Arthur slyly grinned under his hand, satisfied that she was buying the act. He snapped his eyes up and stared at her intensely.

Andre watched in disbelief as Jade's hurt arm was slowly moved behind her. Jade's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as Arthur's eyes burrowed into her own. Before she knew it, her legs turned to jelly and she collapsed full force onto her arm.

"Jade!" Andre cried out, but Arthur held out his hand, stopping him from going any further. "I should've done this the first time we met," he muttered. He pressed yet another button on his watch and a tiny metal creature with spider-like legs and a funnel-shaped body flew out and latched onto Jade's face. Since Jade was squeezing her eyes shut from all the pain she was experiencing, the virus forced one of her eyes open and prepared to stick some sort of needle into it.

"Soon you will be one of us." Arthur gave out an evil laugh and Jade braced herself for what was to come. _I love you, Beck, _her final thought was.

Out of nowhere, Andre hit a button on a machine and the glass dome popped open, revealing a big red button. Arthur lost his concentration on Jade and the virus fell onto her lap, no longer activated by his telekinesis. He gritted his teeth in anger and aimed a virus at Andre.

However, since his concentration was all screwed up now, Andre jumped over it and smashed his hand on the button. He glanced back at Arthur, ready to dodge the next blow, but it never came.

Arthur watched in horror as his weapons melted off of him along with his invisible body shield and he was rendered helpless. "Noooo!" he cried. "My powers are gone!"

He growled and cracked his fingers in preparation. "I guess I'll have to do this the hard way." He took his time to rip the watch off of his wrist before lunging at Andre.

Right after Andre had pressed the button, Cat and Robbie's eyes had snapped wide open. "Tori!" Cat cried. Tori gasped and hugged her tightly while Robbie and Beck gave each other pats on the back.

Tori heard Andre cry out and panic filled her brain. She gave Cat one last pat on the shoulder before running to see what was happening. Seeing his chance, Beck did the same thing and ran over to tend to Jade. Cat crawled over to Robbie and he offered her his arms.

"I'm scared," she whimpered. Robbie hugged her to his chest, wondering what the heck was going on. He couldn't see what was happening with the others, and it scared him just as badly as it scared Cat. But he knew he had to be strong for her, just like she was for him when he had gotten rid of Rex.

"Ssh, everything will be okay, I promise," he whispered into her hair.

Cat jumped as she heard Tori shout. "Stop! You're hurting him!" Robbie just held her tighter and buried his face into her shoulder.

"Tori, no! Andre's fine!" Beck exclaimed, but to no avail. Tori had already jumped on Arthur's back.

However, Tori joined Andre pinned to the floor in just a matter of seconds as Arthur's brute strength overwhelmed her skinny figure. They glanced at each other with horrified looks in their eyes and watched helplessly as Arthur pulled a knife out of his pocket and held it just inches above their faces.

Arthur gave them one last nasty look. "This ends now," he growled and raised the knife above his head. Jade gasped and buried her face into Beck's chest and Beck squeezed his eyes shut. Robbie and Cat still couldn't see anything but still held each other tightly after hearing Arthur's words. Tori squeezed Andre's wrist and held back a scream. They all braced themselves for the moment they hoped would never happen: One of their friends would die.

Ten seconds passed and nothing happened. Tori opened her eyes in time to see a giant shoe nail Arthur hard in the head and knocked him unconscious. Behind him, a female smirked in delight.

"And you thought that I couldn't rock 10 inch heels."

* * *

_Hahaha so I guess it's no surprise who saved the day this time! Or is it? Wow that was a really long chapter! It took me forever to write it though because I'm not exactly the best at writing action scenes so I apologize for the amount of clichés I used and the amount of words I repeated. Last chapter will be posted soon!_

_Oh, and The Blonde Squad was awesome! AWWW! Robbie was such a sweetheart! He's my new favorite character now X3. I love him without Rex! And the amount of Cabbie was overwhelmingly fabulous and cute. But oh Cat… Why are you so damn oblivious sometimes? But I felt so much better when I saw Ariana's tweet. Cabbie's going to happen! Eeeeeep! I just hope she's not trolling us like Dan did… :( But I guess we'll have to see for ourselves!_

_Please reviewwwww! ! ! And look out for a The Blonde Squad oneshot coming to theaters near you soon!_


	11. Absence makes the heart grow fonder

_Well guys, the last chapter is here! Funny, I thought people would be freaking out about Bade getting back together the way they did about Cabbie… but I take what I can get! Lol. I will include an author's note at the end of the story and it is pretty important, so I will just say some of these things now:_

_I really thought that this story would be awful. Really, I did. But somehow, it turned into this amazing plot line and I don't know how the hell I pulled it off lol. I just wanted to say thanks sooo much for reading this! I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you guys will read the rest of my stories as well :)_

_Another note: I'm so happy! My one-shot "The Wig Master" got more reviews than my first Cabbie story ever got! I was so touched X3 I love writing (especially for Cabbie) and will continue to do so for a long time :) You won't be getting rid of me that easily!_

_So onto the end we go! I wonder how Trina found them… ;)_

* * *

Tori and Andre's mouths dropped open as they saw Trina's tall figure standing where Arthur was just seconds ago. She was smiling at them with her arms crossed and a smug expression on her face.

She soon that everyone was staring at her in absolute shock. "What? Oh come on, I'm not that drop-dead gorgeous! Who am I kidding, of course I am! I'm perfect!"

"As in perfectly annoying?" Jade snapped softly, her voice hoarse from screaming in pain.

"We almost died!" Tori shouted at her. "Didn't you see him with his knife raised over his head?"

"No, I thought he was tickling you guys," she said sarcastically. "Now put out your hands and I'll help you up!"

Before Trina could help them (she was too busy fussing over her nails), Tori and Andre had already hoisted themselves to their feet. Tori cringed as she felt the pain explode in her lower back again. "How did you find us?" she asked Trina. "I thought you were at the hospital!"

"Oh my gosh, it was horrible, Tori!" Trina said, grabbing and shaking Tori's shoulders. "I had to take care of Sinjin and there was a robbery and then he started going crazy and then-"

"Whoa there, slow down, Trina! Just tell me how you found us."

Trina sighed. "Okay."

_Flashback: An hour or two ago_

_Trina woke up on a concrete floor and rubbed her eyes in exhaustion. She had had the most horrible dream last night! She had gotten locked in a hospital and Sinjin had been running around screaming bloody murder and flipping over gurneys and desks…_

_She looked around her and screamed as she saw the overturned furniture and Sinjin sitting in front of her with that creepy smile on his face. "How's it going, cupcake?" he asked. "Have a good sleep?"_

"_Get away from me, you freak! And wipe the slobber from your mouth; it's disgusting!"_

"_Sorry, I drool when I stare at pretty girls. It's a curse," he sighed and looked up at the ceiling._

_Trina hurriedly got up and dusted herself off. "That's it! I'm hot, I'm dying of thirst, and I haven't eaten in hours! I'm breaking out of here if it's the last thing I do!"_

_She backed up against the wall, let out a raging shout, and barreled towards the closed door. However, it swung open with ease and the extra force Trina put into her run sent her crashing to the hallway floor._

_Sinjin ran towards the door and flinched in fear. He could've sworn he had seen bullets shooting from her eyes, she was so mad. "Sinjin…" she growled. "How long has this place been unlocked?"_

"_Um… eight hours?"_

"_And you didn't wake me? ! You are the most despicable scum on the face of this planet!" Trina shouted._

"_I'm sorry, you just looked so cute while you were sleeping, I didn't want to wake you!" Sinjin stammered. "And I wanted company anyway because I'm still diagnosed with that disease."_

_Trina squinted and saw no craziness dancing in his eyes. "Wait… you seem more normal than usual… if that's even possible. Did you-"_

"_Yeah, a nurse finally gave me the medication after she saw me chew her spinning desk chair to shreds. I'm back to my old self… for now."_

"_Well, I have to get home, Tori's probably worried sick about me!" Trina exclaimed. She picked up her purse from behind Sinjin's gurney and started to walk towards the door._

_However, she froze when she heard the sentence escape Sinjin's mouth. "I'm pretty sure Tori's more worried about her own life than yours right now."_

_She stared at him in confusion. "Wha-What do you mean?" She trembled, hoping that what he was alluding to wasn't true._

"_Tori got caught up in some skivvy business with Cat and is now being held in the basement of PNX Technology," Sinjin announced._

"_Wait, where my dad used to work?"_

_Sinjin nodded in assent. "Apparently it has something to do with the 'treasure' Cat sent everyone a text message about."_

_Well that made sense. Trina was busy at the time and deleted that message right away, thinking it was another one of Cat's nonsensical ideas. "We have to get out of here then!" she exclaimed. "And you have to come with me."_

"_Why?" Sinjin moaned as Trina dragged him out of the room. "I'm going to get in trouble!"_

"_No you won't! I work here, you dimwit! I'll get fired instead, which will hopefully happen because I hate this place. And besides, you need to help me locate them so I make sure my parents don't yell at me for letting Tori out of my sight."_

_Sinjin sighed. "Okay, but only if you give me a hug after the whole ordeal."_

_Trina gave him a nasty look that made Sinjin almost wet himself. Then, she rolled her eyes and they shook hands. "Whatever, deal! Now let's go!"_

_As they climbed into Trina's car, she realized something. "Wait… how do you know all of this stuff?"_

_He gave her a lopsided grin and winked at her. "I know EVERYTHING."_

_She raised her eyebrow in disbelief and he huffed in defeat. "Okay, Burf was spying on them and told me anything when we got the cell phone signal back!"_

_She groaned and started up the car. "When we're done with this, I'm going to gouge out your eyes with a chain saw!"_

"_Um, technically, you can't 'gouge' someone's eyes with a chain saw. You could use a spoon or a shovel or a-"_

"_SHUT UP!"_

"…So Sinjin traced the location of your Pearphone to here and hacked into the company's computer system, disabled all the alarms, and obtained the map of the whole building."

Tori stared at her, wide-eyed. "How did Sinjin know the password to my Pearphone?"

"Did he use ComputerHacking for Dummies?" Robbie called from his spot behind the people tanks as he helped Cat up.

"Did you see his baby pictures?" Jade asked.

"I don't know, I don't care, and oh my gosh they were adorable!" Trina rattled off. She suddenly crossed her legs and a pained expression appeared on her face. "Oh geez, those 5 bottles of water I had during the car ride are really catching up to me! Gotta scamper!" She scurried out of the room with only one shoe on to look for a bathroom.

"Wait!" Tori called and picked up Trina's blood red Fazzini high heel shoe. "You forgot your weapon!"

"Yeah, the weapon of mass destruction," Andre laughed and Tori joined along with him.

Tori looked around the room, which was now dead silent. It now lacked the whirring noises of the machines in action and the noisy struggles that the kids had to endure just moments ago. "So now what?"

"We need to make sure that Arthur is dead so he doesn't come back and hunt us again." Beck helped Jade up and she walked over to his stiff, comatose body. "And I know a way to do that."

Jade pulled a pair of scissors out of her bra and clutched it tightly in her hands. She let her fury take over her as she stared at the cold, heartless man underneath her. Squeezing her fingers around the handles in a death grip, she let out a revengeful cry and sank the scissors into Arthur's throat.

Cat gasped and covered her eyes and the others watched in horrified anxiousness as they waited for Arthur to react. However, he didn't move an inch, and Jade's scissors were covered in the black metallic goo as she removed them from his throat. "Well, I guess we know where that stuff comes from then." Beck grimaced.

"Ewww!" Tori exclaimed. "We were swimming in his-"

"Please don't say it out loud," Andre begged of her. "I'm already wonky enough as it is!" Tori rubbed his shoulder comfortingly as he put his head in his hands.

Jade proceeded to stab Arthur in the stomach and once again the scissors were coated with the sticky black goo. She dropped the scissors, stood up, and kicked him really hard in the side. "That's what you get for being a psychotic wazzbug!" she shouted.

"Ssh, baby, calm down," Beck said, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's over. He's gone."

"You never know," Jade muttered to herself. "You never know…"

Suddenly, they heard voices in the hallway. "This way, Officer Vega, the kids are in here," Sinjin echoed in his nasally voice.

Tori gasped. "Dad!" she exclaimed and tackled her father's tall, uniformed figure into a huge hug, then did the same to her mother and sister, who had also tagged along with them after freshening up in the bathroom.

Andre smiled at their reunion and his smile just got wider when he saw his grandma hiding behind them. "Grandma!" he exclaimed.

"Andre! What is all over you?" she shouted, looking at him in disgust.

Andre chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Okay Andre!" She looked around nervously. "Where's my butter?"

"You didn't bring any butter! Go look for the kitchen and see if there's any for the refrigerator."

"Okay Andre!" she shouted and trotted out of the room. Andre sighed. As much as he loved his grandmother, she really was crazy.

Meanwhile, Robbie and Cat were trying to deal with Robbie's Mamaw, who had called Mr. Vega after Robbie's mom had called her panicking about Robbie not being home yet. "I'm so glad you're safe, Robbie!" she gushed in her scratchy voice as she gave him a giant hug that made Robbie very uncomfortable. "But did you really have to bring your girlfriend into it? I wouldn't be surprised if she dumps you after this."

"Mamaw, she's not my girlfriend!"

"I'm not?" Cat looked at him sadly.

Robbie's expression softened and he took her hand in his. "Can we talk about it first? I feel like everything's happening too fast."

Cat looked crestfallen. "Okay," she said reluctantly and they continued to argue with Robbie's Mamaw.

On the other side of the room, Beck and Jade were talking to Reid Pollock, a private investigator that Mr. Vega had hired to assist him in the case. He had been David Vega's mentor when he used to work at PNX Technology and was now one of Mr. Vega's good friends and mentors. Jade's father had also hired him once to figure out who had trashed him room, which backfired on him because it turned out that he was the perpetrator and trashed the room during one of his drunken brawls with Jade.

"So did you ever find out what that black goo was?" Jade asked Detective Pollock.

"It's a combination of carbon, oxygen, uranium, and crystallized potassium in a very rare form," he answered. He looked formal in his navy blue detective uniform yet acted very casually as he explained to them what had happened. "It is a very sticky, dense substance that can be used to sustain life. PNX Technology wanted to keep it under wraps so it didn't fall into the wrong hands, but Mr. Killsburo's father somehow got a hold of the computer chip containing the improved formula of the goo and the laser that went along with it, and Cat unknowingly brought it back to Arthur."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'improved formula?'" Beck asked, putting air quotes around the last few words.

"According to our records, Arthur already had the original formula and used it to take over the bottom half of the company. The improved formula simply increased his 'telepathic ability,' as he called it, and he injected it into himself daily, thinking that it would eventually give him the power to conquer the world."

He raised his thin, black eyebrows and smiled at them. "But it looks like he made a mistake tracking and capturing you guys. By doing so, you were able to infiltrate the company and destroy them from the inside, which we at the top half of the company were never able to do. You pretty much saved the world from a major nuclear meltdown."

Beck and Jade looked at each other in awe. "We did?" Jade said. "Do we get a reward?"

"Jade!"

"What? I want to know!" Jade argued back.

The detective chuckled. "Actually, it's good that she asked because I almost forgot! Jade, we called the Broadway director from the play you were supposed to star in and told him the whole situation. Although the play is now done and they used understudies to replace both you and Andre, you will not be blackballed in Broadway. In fact, they have invited you both back to be actors in their new play next summer."

Jade's eyes widened and a smile appeared on her face. "Oh, wow… Thanks so much!" she said and shook the man's hand. "You have no idea how much that means to us."

"As for the rest of you…" He then steered his attention towards Beck. "You'll each get a one-year scholarship to the college of your choice and a chance to perform with Ginger Fox at her new upcoming concert."

"That's awesome!" Beck exclaimed, thinking about how much this man was doing to secure their futures. "Thanks man!"

Detective Pollock chuckled, a hearty smile appearing on his relatively young face. "Please, it's the least I could do for you guys. And I will make sure that Ms. West's treatment for her broken arm and Ms. Vega's treatment for her back are paid for by the U.S. government as well."

He looked at his notepad, which was filled with notes he had scribbled down about Arthur and the stories Beck and Jade had each given him. "Well, I have to go talk to the others and tell them the good news. Thank you kids for cooperating with us. We assure you that this operation is to be completely destroyed immediately."

"Thanks Reid!" Jade called out as he went over to talk to Robbie and Cat.

Beck gave her a lopsided smile and Jade couldn't help but think how much she loved his hair. She had missed stroking it constantly while they were dating. "So… how was Broadway? Is Jade West going to be the next big star?" he teased.

Jade blushed and pushed him playfully. "Shut up."

* * *

A couple of hours later, the investigation was almost at its end. The building had been searched fully and any potentially harmful weapons were immediately confiscated. The relatives said their goodbyes and followed Detective Pollock and a couple of other officers to the police cars.

Mr. Vega had convinced the detective to let the others go home with each other since not everyone could fit in the three cars that the police had come in. He gave Tori one last hug before making an announcement.

"We're so glad that you all are safe," he declared. "We are now researching potential accomplices Arthur may have had in his organization. Thanks to your help, we can now make sure that something like this never happens again. Drive safe, and we'll see you all soon."

He tipped his cap in farewell, and the gang shouted their goodbyes as he exited the room, leaving the six kids to themselves once again.

In one corner, Tori and Andre had reconvened after they each spent time with their families. They knew that there were some things they had to get straightened out before they parted.

"So… you never told me who you liked, Tor," Andre said, giving her a mischievous smile.

Instead of teasing him back like she usually did, Tori pursed her lips nervously and stared at the ground. "I've told you a million times that I can't tell you. Why are you so anxious to know?"

Andre sighed. "Okay, I like someone too. And it's someone in this room."

Tori gasped in surprise, then started chewing on her bottom lip. "Me too."

"Okay, that makes things a lot easier then. I'll go first. Close your eyes and I'll point to who it is in the room."

Tori's expression fell at the sheer thought of it being Cat or Jade, but she gave in anyway with an exasperated sigh and closed her eyes. She breathed in deeply and tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She was doing well until someone had to cut off the air supply coming through her mouth. She realized what was happening and her heart soared as she kissed Andre back and cupped his face in her hands.

_Man, who would've thought I'd be kissing my best friend? _ she thought to herself. _And liking it?_

Andre eventually broke away and they stared at each other in utter shock, unable to believe what had just happened. Then, they spontaneously erupted into laughter and hugged each other, relieved that they were each others' crush and not someone else. "I never did thank you for saving me, did I?" Tori said softly into Andre's ear.

He smiled to himself. "You could make this my thank-you present," he replied.

He felt Tori laugh and hug him tighter. "That could work, too."

* * *

**A quick A/N- Here's the quick back story on Robbie singing his song to Cat. In this story, the whole Blonde Squad thing did happen… except Robbie didn't get jealous (because he still had mixed feelings about Cat) and he didn't write it especially for her (also for the exact same reason stated above). He had written it for a music class he was taking and decided to sing it for Cat when she was sad. However, Cat has never been the same since he sang it to her… I wonder why? ;)**

* * *

In the opposite corner, Robbie and Cat were sitting in somewhat of an awkward silence. They enjoyed being in each other's company, of course, but now things were different between them. Everything was different now.

"Robbie," Cat pleaded, looking at his exhausted figure sitting next to her. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

Robbie sighed and massaged his temples. "I don't know what to say."

"Why did you tell your Mamaw that we weren't dating?"

Robbie was silent and he flushed in embarrassment. Tears pooled in Cat's eyes. "Did that kiss not mean anything? Is that why?" She started to freak out. "Was it just a mistake?"

Robbie gaped at Cat. "No, of course not! I've wanted to do that for such a long time and I'm glad I did it."

Cat looked down at her lap and tried to hide the small smile forming on her face. "Actually, I need to ask you the same sort of thing," he said and stared directly into her eyes to make sure she wasn't lying. "When you said you loved me… Did you mean it? Or was it on your list of things-I-should-say- before-I-die or something?"

Confusion danced in Cat's eyes. "No, I never made a list like that! Maybe I will when I get home…"

Robbie groaned and rubbed his eyes. "No Cat, that's not what I meant." He placed his hands on her shoulders and his tone softened. "Are you really in love with me? Or was it an accident that you said it?" His voice cracked a little bit at the end and he hoped that her answer wouldn't be the second choice.

She sighed and tried to think of a good answer to give him- one that would accurately express her feelings about the matter. "I don't know, Robbie. I don't think it was."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, using her catchphrase. Or at least that's what everyone called it. Oh my gosh, it's "Cat's catchphrase!" She giggled internally at her brilliantly random concoction.

"I mean, for so long I've just thought of you as a friend. But after you sang that song to me and supported me more than anyone else did…" She trailed off and drifted deeply into her thoughts. "I wanted to become better friends with you. That's why I asked you to hang out more often. And after you said no to us playing Baby Golf together… I don't know what I felt. Sad? Blown off? But it definitely wasn't a good feeling. Like the feeling I get when my brother eats another one of my goldfish."

She smiled softly at Robbie and slightly shrugged her shoulders. Robbie wished that he had taken a snapshot of that moment right then and there because she looked so innocent and adorable. "And I guess us being separated- when Arthur was making us work and you were up there with Beck- made me miss you a lot. And that may have been when I started to fall for you." Her voice sounded like wind chimes as she laughed. "You know what they say- Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

He blushed and thought about how much he had missed her over the summer- and how worried he was about her when he had seen Arthur's cruelty in action. "Yeah, I guess it does."

Cat thought for a moment. "Wait… how can a heart grow fonder? Hearts don't have feelings! My brother dissected a sheep's heart once in the kitchen, but I didn't hear any sounds coming from it. Oh my gosh, the heart must've been in so much-"

She was cut off by Robbie gently pressing his lips to hers. Cat giggled in surprise and moved herself so that her legs were on his lap. Robbie's hands snaked around her waist and she rested her hands on the back of his neck.

Cat gawked at him in surprise and Robbie smiled at her. "It means that two people can appreciate each other more if they spend time away from each other."

"Oh!" Cat exclaimed, finally getting his point. "Okay."

"So… will you be my girlfriend?" Robbie asked her, his voice shaking with uneasiness.

She pressed her forehead against his. "Of course I will."

This time, she kissed him first, and it didn't take them long to become completely absorbed in each other- and for the others to notice.

* * *

Jade snickered while resting in Beck's arms as she watched the new couple make out in the corner diagonal of theirs. "Looks like they're having fun over there," she commented to Beck.

Beck glanced over at Cat and Robbie and grinned. "Let them enjoy it, Jade. Robbie was really freaking out over her when we were hiding out in the woods."

"Yeah, Cat hasn't been the same since he sang that song to her," Jade agreed.

She turned her head to face his and Beck stared at her green twinkling eyes, wondering how she had gotten so incredibly beautiful. "Where do we go from here?" she asked softly.

Beck pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I think we should take it slow at first. You know, go on a couple of dates and figure out our relationship before we start to actually date again. Maybe by doing that, we'll be able to see what went wrong the first time and fix those things so they don't happen again."

"Ugh, do you have to be so damn logical all the time?" Jade said, even though a smile formed upon her face.

"Yes, I do," Beck said in his soft little boy voice that Jade secretly loved but rarely came out of him. He put his lips to his ear. "I never stopped loving you, Jade. You know that, right?"

She gave him a passionate kiss on the lips and snuggled further into his side. "I do now."

* * *

After about an hour after the police had left, they decided to leave the building. As they walked out, they were pleased to see the sun out and no clouds in the sky. A cool breeze licked their faces and they chatted and skipped in happiness as they began their long walk to the location where Cat's pink car was parked.

About halfway through their walk, Jade subtly pulled Andre to the side. "Did the detective tell you that we're not getting blackballed in Hollywood?" she murmured.

"Yep, and that we're going to be in the director's next play. I heard he decided to do _Wicked _next year," Andre said enthusiastically.

Jade stared off into the distance. "Man, it was always a dream of mine to be Elphaba in that play…"

"Because she gets to fly on a broom and wear all black like you do?" Andre joked.

Jade elbowed him in the side and Andre made a strangled noise before noticing her wry smirk. "Very funny, Andre. And yes… sort of," she said sheepishly.

Andre smiled. "Do I know you or what?"

Andre regretted saying that when Jade gave her an impish grin. "You don't know a lot of things about me," she said in a creepy voice.

He gulped nervously before Cat interrupted them with a story about how her brother met a troubled girl while walking around in New York.

Soon enough, they were singing at the top of their lungs to _It's A Beautiful Day _by the Beatles as they started their two hour drive back home. Cat had finally gotten the top of her car fixed and everything in her car had been restored to the way it was before her brother had wrecked it. Andre volunteered to drive them home, so he and Tori had taken the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. Robbie, Jade, and Beck chilled out in the back seat while Cat sat on top of them mainly in Robbie's lap.

Beck was distracted when he heard his phone buzz in his pocket. He casually ducked away when no one noticed and read the message.

_Robbie: Hey, where should I take Cat out for our first date?_

Beck snorted in amusement and promptly texted him back.

_Beck: How about you and Cat double date with me and Jade tomorrow at Nozu? I'm sure she won't hate you too much if you tagged along, especially if you bring Cat with you XD._

_Robbie: How should that make me feel any better? But thanks man… seriously. I'm new at this whole girlfriend stuff; I need a wingman!_

_Beck: Don't worry Rob; I got your back ;)_

_Robbie: Yay!_

Meanwhile, Tori and Cat were having a private conversation of their own.

_Tori: Hey, wanna have a sleepover tonight while your parents are out of town?_

_Cat: I'd love to! Can we give each other makeovers?_

_Tori: *sigh* Sure Cat, whatever you want :)_

_Cat: Yay! I have so much to tell you!_

_Tori: Ooh, does it have anything thing to do with a boy? ;D_

_Cat: … Yes. What about you?_

_Tori: Yep :D I'll bake us some brownies when we get home. Can't wait!_

_Cat: Me neither! You're a good friend, Tori :) …Except when you kissed Danny. And when you made Evan not like me because I wasn't blonde. And when you…_

_Tori: Ooh look, a unicorn!_

_Cat: Where? ! Aw, I missed it :(_

Tori chuckled and put away her phone. She stifled a huge grin as she saw the familiar landscape of Los Angeles looming in front of them.

"So who's up for some ice cream?" Andre asked.

"ME!" everyone yelled at the same time.

So on Saturday, July 14th, 2012, they sat outside of a Freezy Queen licking ice cream cones and realizing how much they loved hanging out with each other.

Maybe absence does make the heart grow fonder after all.

* * *

Somewhere in a different time zone, a lady with platinum blonde hair, squinty eyes, and bright red lipstick made herself comfortable in a hotel basement in New York, New York. She was leaning back in a chair and typing furiously on her laptop, her blood red nails making clicking noises as they skirted along the keys, until she was interrupted by an incoming message.

**EMERGENCY ALERT: **_Your brother is dead. The operation is in ruins. It is now your time to take his place and continue our effort to take over the world. An automated message sent by PNXTechnology._

The lady's bloodcurdling scream of anguish and anger bounced off the windowless walls of her office. She sobbed into her hands for a few moments before quickly cleaning herself up and staring devilishly at her laptop.

"If I ever find the person who killed Arthur," she growled as she opened up a new email message and started to type again. "That person will be dead in minutes." She smiled coldly as she sent the message.

"My brother's death will not pass without being avenged."

* * *

_Ooh, do we have a potential sequel on our hands? I don't know, that's up to you guys! I don't usually make sequels because I don't think writing future stuff is as fun to write (like couples already dating and their kids and stuff like that), but I might write one if you guys beg me to!_

_Random fun fact before I type up the Author's Note: I named the story Trapped: Dazed and Confused for a reason. Of course, the first part is obvious- they all get "trapped" at one point or another in the story. They are also "dazed" because they don't know what the heck is going on half the time and they are also "confused" because they are still trying to figure out their feelings for each other (the couples, obviously). I know, clever, right? :D Hahahaha._

_Okay, I have an important announcement to make: I'm taking a brief break from Fanfiction. This is because I am currently writing a novel that has been on hiatus for about 6-8 months now because I can't figure out how I should write the epilogue. It's about 12 chapters so far and 130 pages and it's called "All Because of You." I'll give you a brief description if you're really curious: It's about a girl whose sister died when she was young and she gets bullied to the point where she thinks everyone is out to get her (including her gymnastics teammates) and thinks that no one cares about her- except someone does; her best friend Izzy (yes, he's a boy). And yes, the girl's name happens to be the same as one of awesome Victorious characters: Jade._

_However, when I get back, I will be writing about 3-4 more stories. 3 of these will be songfics and 1 will be another random story. The songfics are as follows: __**Better Than I Know Myself **__by Adam Lambert __**(Bade)**__, __**What Makes You Beautiful **__by One Direction __**(Tandre)**__, and __**Crush**__ by David Archuleta __**(Cabbie)**__. As the school year starts, I may start a fanfic based on a project Sikowitz gives them about following their horoscopes no matter what wacky situations they may get into from reading them. So stay tuned; I will be back soon!_

_Please review and look out for more stories coming your way in the future! ! :D Love you all!_

_oHowH_


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